Sekai Ga Furu
by Kuradora
Summary: This story is discontinued and will be rewritten with hopefully better characterization.
1. Death of Trust

Sekai ga Furu

Dead Trust

Disclaimer: The only things in this story I own are any OCs and the plot itself.

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_Having a power above that of man isolates one from those around him. In this isolation one may merely be lost in his insanity as he loses his humanity. If one were to rise above that, they would be thwarting their approaching doom and become able to reclaim the humanity torn from them by their curse. This is the horrid beauty of the Path of Geass.

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_

Naruto couldn't believe it; he'd failed the genin exam for the third and final time. That was his last shot. He couldn't become Hokage. He sat on the swing outside the ninja academy dejectedly. He watched most of his classmates happily show their parents and guardians their hitae ate. He then heard a voice say, "Hey Naruto, you know that Iruka didn't pass you because he cares for you right? He wants you to be a strong person." Naruto looked up at the speaker, Iruka's assistant Mizuki, in surprise. "You know," he continued, "There is another way to become a genin." Naruto was shocked, "Really?!" Mizuki nodded, "You must take the Scroll of Sealing and learn one jutsu from it without getting caught. It will work well if you use this location." He handed Naruto a note that had the location of a shed in the woods written on it.

Naruto focused and molded his chakra again. "Kage** Bunshin no Jutsu**!"for the umpteenth time it worked. If he couldn't even make a good bunshin, then how could he make kage bunshin so easily, not counting the strain and fatigue? Speaking of which, Naruto was exhausted and collapsed to the ground. "Naruto? What are you doing with the Scroll of Sealing?" Naruto looked at him, confused, "But isn't this the secret genin exam?" "No, who told you that?" "Mizuki-sensei." "But Mizuki is –" Blades suddenly flew out at the both of them from somewhere among the trees. Iruka shoved Naruto out of the way and managed to prevent any major damage to himself but was pushed against the wall of the shack. "Naruto! Run!" With a nod, Naruto shot off into the trees. Mizuki came into view. He was dressed for combat with Mizuki immediately rushed after him and Iruka followed. "Just turn yourself in!" he grunted, as he dodged a kick. "Shut up and die!" Mizuki responded. He managed to knock Iruka to the ground and threw a few kunai after him. Iruka magaged to deflect them with a kunai of his own, but Mizuki was standing on a tree limb above him preparing to throw a fuuma shuriken. Mizuki threw it, intending to kill his colleague. Before it could hit him, Naruto jumped out from the trees and tried to catch the bladed weapon but he was fatally impaled instead. "Naruto!" Iruka cried out in horror. Then the clone burst into smoke. Naruto ran out and grabbed the falling weapon and readied it. He remembered a conversation that he'd had with Mizuki once.

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**Narrative Art: Flashback Technique**

"Mizuki-sensei! Mizuki-sensei! Fuuma shuriken are awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. "You've got to teach me! Please!" Mizuki chuckled, "Alright, alright. Just a little though." Naruto nodded excitedly. "Well, to start, you hold it like this…"

* * *

Naruto focused and visualized a successful throw. He out all of his strength in his arm and threw the shuriken with all of his might. "Mizuki-sensei! Yurusenai!"[1] As it whizzed through the air toward him, Mizuki tried to jump out of the way. Another Naruto jumped out behind him and pulled him back down. He then wrapped his limbs around Mizuki's. The fuuma shuriken pierced both of their bodies. The Naruto in the trees then turned into smoke. Mizuki teetered on the limb and then fell from the trees, landing near Iruka with a thud. Naruto dropped to his knees. All those clones in such a short time, as well as throwing the colossal shuriken was draining. He could barely feel his chakra. Iruka rose from the ground and checked on his dying colleague. Mizuki gave a dry chuckle. "Heh. I knew that I would die this way. That traitor's spawn would be the death of me." Iruka sighed, "This was still your fault." Mizuki ignored that statement and asked, "Would you fulfill a dying friend's last request?" Iruka nodded "Then could I speak with Naruto ?" Seeing as a dying man would be little to no threat, Iruka acquiesced. He called Naruto over. Then Iruka walked a short distance away to give them privacy. When he knew that Naruto was near, Mizuki spoke to him. "Naruto. If only I didn't love you, this would have been easier. However, for the sake of the village, I would even kill the one I look on as a little brother." Against his precious statement, Naruto was teary eyed. "That's why… We'll both die here!" With the last of his strength, Mizuki threw a kunai at Naruto's face. Naruto desperately tried to twist out of the way but the blade cut across his left eye. "Gyaaaaaaaah!" Naruto collapsed to the ground, screaming in pain and clutching at his eye. As he did so, his face was right next to the lifeless eyes of Mizuki. Iruka ran up and tried to help Naruto, but he cringed away from his teacher. Iruka picked up the struggling boy and raced to the hospital.

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When Iruka got to the hospital, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was waiting for them. Naruto fought against all helping hands so he was tranquilized and sent to surgery. The Sandaime turned to Iruka. "What did Mizuki do to him?" Iruka looked downward. "I don't know maybe it hade something to do with – You were watching?!" Sarutobi nodded. "Had to do with what?" "The two were very close and Mizuki was Naruto's main pillar of support. Without him, his only real friend is Hyuuga Hinata, even though you won't let the two be in each other's company. Almost all of the people he met were through Mizuki, who just destroyed any trust Naruto may have had for him and the others." Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. "Even if Mizuki didn't kill him, he definitely killed his ability to believe in others."

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[1] Translation: "Mizuki! I won't forgive you for this!"

Please review. My narrative blade needs to be sharpened.


	2. Prelude to a Dream

Sekai Ga Furu

Prelude to a Dream

Disclaimer: I only own any OCs of mine (which currently do not exist) and the plot of the story.

"Speaking"

'Thought'

Naruto woke in a hospital bed with a gasp. He could only feel one eye! Naruto felt for the eye only to feel his fingers brush against gauze. He thought back. 'Mizuki-sen – No! Mizuki-_teme_ got me in the eye.' _Eyes._ He could still see those dead eyes gazing into his own. After that, things got kind of hazy. If the one who he trusted most betrayed him, how could he place trust in anyone else? A large portion of the village hated him already, so why take the risk. All of that hate was over his clan. His _clan_. Why wouldn't people see him for himself? He wasn't his myouji[1] after all. He didn't even know what his clan had – Sandaime suddenly walked into the hospital room. "Good morning Naruto. How do you feel?" Naruto gave him a slightly wary glance before shifting away slightly. He searched for exits to the room as he'd been taught in the academy. Mizuki had always said – He brought his focus back to the hokage. "Excuse me?" Sarutobi calmly repeated the question. "How are you?" "I am fine sir. Thank you for asking." Naruto responded formally in contrast to his normally rough manner. Sarutobi was taken aback at the detached attitude of the boy. "Well, Naruto, you have been granted Genin status for saving the life of a Konoha shinobi." Naruto nodded in comprehension. Sarutobi sighed. "Today you need to get to the academy for your team assignment. Naruto nodded again and began to dress himself as Sarutobi turned around to give him privacy. "I'll be going to the academy then Hokage-sama." With that, he walked past the hokage and left his hospital room.

* * *

When Naruto walked into his classroom, the other students were shocked with his new appearance, a bloody blue jumpsuit and gauze wrapped around his head to cover his eye. Naruto looked around the room suspiciously. Anyone he already knew was suspect. Hyuuga Hinata, who he'd only talked to once, was next to the only available seat. He sighed. She was from that clan of arrogant jerks. Why would they think that they're better than me? Both of our clans have demon blood anyway. When he took the seat, she cringed slightly. I shouldn't judge him, but Father did say to avoid his clan…"Naruto-san, are you alright?" She asked. He looked at her coldly and replied. "I'm fine. Don't concern yourself." She looked a little hurt at that, and a random boy from their class turned to him. "_You_ don't get to speak to others harshly. You're the one who failed right?" Naruto frowned. "Whether I passed or not is none of your business." He looked down at his hands. They were covered in blood. He bit his bottom lip. It made him feel kind of…aggressive. 'Why do I want to see more of it?' He wanted to feel people's flesh tear under his nails, blood spill over and cake under them… He suddenly clutched his head in pain. His eye throbbed like there was someone crushing it in their hand. Naruto then blacked out with a gasp.

* * *

Naruto heard a loud roar and crackling embers. **"Come to me. Serve me. Follow the twisted path of the blood of Uzumaki!"** He saw nothing. Suddenly, an orange glow illuminated part of the abyss. He stepped back and reached for a kunai only to see that… He was naked. The glow brightened with another roar and spread throughout the void. There was a bright flash and he was facing a large creature that he'd only seen in history books. They were both in a burning field. It roared again. **"Come to me. Come and know your fate as my servant."** Swallowing his fear, Naruto called out, "Why would I serve you? Who the heck are you?" He felt a sharp pain in his head and winced as a name popped up in his head. **"You fool! You are bound to me by blood. That which ran through your ancestors in the land of churning waves commands you. You have no choice."** Naruto growled at it. "**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" The clone immediately formed a handseal. "**Henge!**" The clone became a fuuma shuriken. Naruto threw it at the monster with as much strength as he could muster. Rising embers drew together and crushed the clone-turned-weapon. A wicked grin spread across the monster's snout. **"You have guts! Mh…Hmhmhmhm! Fine! I'll make you my eyes to the outside! Hahahahahahahaha!"** Naruto thought to himself. 'Eyes? Outside? What does it…' Suddenly, Naruto's eye felt like it was burning. He dropped to his knees, the eyelid over his damaged eye snapping open. "Ngh! You…! I said no! Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

* * *

Naruto gasped and slowly moved his hand from his eye. It felt heavier and… warmer. Both Hinata and the boy they were talking to looked at him as if he was insane. 'This must be why Tou-sama said to avoid him,' Hinata thought to herself, 'He must be completely insane!'

Iruka then walked in and everyone turned to face him. "OK! Today, as you know is the day for team assignments! I will announce your teams shortly after which we'll break for lunch." Most of the former students were hoping to be on teams with their friends or crushes, but Naruto was a different story. He was being assaulted by the phantom images of the previous night. He remembered the feeling of being impaled by a fuuma shuriken. 'But that was my… clone…' "…And Uzumaki Naruto on team 7. Next is Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Hinata…" Naruto managed to catch his team assignment but finally understood why Kage Bunshin was forbidden – you could feel each and every death. After the announcements, the jounin sensei walked in to take their teams. Kurenai Yuuhi, a dark haired, red eyed woman came for team 8 and Sarutobi Asuma, the hokage's son who seemed to constantly be smoking. After all of the other teams had left, Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke were left in the room. Sakura was a fairly pretty pink haired girl who could actually be quite violent. Sasuke was stoic and sometimes sarcastic boy with black hair. The other two were getting frustrated with waiting while Naruto was still reliving the previous night. He could still hear the sliicing sound as the blade pierced Mizuki's – 'No. I've gotta focus. If I use Kage Bunshin, I could go crazy. But if I don't, I'll barely have any techniques to use… If I turn the clones into weapons, maybe it won't affect me.' Suddenly, a man with silver hair walked in. He wore his hitai-ate over one eye and had a bored expression. He looked at the genin in the room and said, "Since, you're all here, let's meet up on the roof." He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Unable to say anything, the trio left for the roof.

When the three got to the roof, the man was waiting for them. "It took you long enough. Well? Sit down." They did as they were told. "Let's begin with some introductions." "What do you want to know?" Sakura asked. "Hmmm… how about your likes, dislikes… hobbies, dreams… that kind of stuff?" "Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto responded. "Yeah," Sakura added, "You look kind of suspicious…" "Oh… Me?" after a few minutes the man acquiesced. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I won't tell you about my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future… Well, I have lots of hobbies." Naruto Sakura and Sasuke turned to each other. "So, all we got was his name?" "Okay! Next up is Blondie." Naruto looked at him dispassionately. "Wakatta. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like –" An image of Mizuki treating him to ramen passed through his head. " – … I dislike traitors." _Mizuki…_ "Hobbies? I guess it would be practicing my stealth. My dream…whatever." He stopped trying. Kakashi made an evaluation. 'It's odd that an _Uzumaki_ would say _that_… Maybe he won't be like them.' Sakura was next. "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like," she looked at Sasuke, blushing, "I don't really dislike anything… And my dream for the future… *squeal*" Kakashi made another evaluation. 'At this age, girls are more interested in boys than ninjutsu.' Finally, it was Sasuke's turn for introductions. "I am Uchiha Sasuke. I don't really like much of anything. I hate a lot of things. And my dream – no ambition is to revive my clan and kill a certain man." 'Hmm…' Kakashi thought to himself, 'I expected that.' Naruto turned to the black haired boy. "Do you really think that you're ready for red hands?" The other two turned to him in confusion while Kakashi mentally sighed. 'Sandaime did say that he was dealing with his first kill… I should make sure that he won't become a liability. Maybe some counseling.' Kakashi made an announcement. "Tomorrow we will start our first mission." The trio turned to him in excitement. "What is it?!" "Survival training." Here Sakura spoke up. "But Sensei, we already did those in the Academy" "Well this one is a little different…no, I won't tell you. You won't like it." "C'mon Sensei, what is it?" Kakashi looked unsure at this question. "Well, alright, don't say you weren't warned… This training is an exam to see if you really have the right to be genin. The failure rate is…" The trio leaned in. "Is…" Kakashi beamed at them. "…Over 66 percent!" They gawked at him in shock. "I told you that you wouldn't like it," The one eyed jounin said in a singsong voice, "By the way, don't eat breakfast. You'll definitely throw up." With that, he disappeared in a puff of smoke and leaves. Shrugging, Naruto left and went to the hokage's tower, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to their own devices.

* * *

"So, Naruto," Sarutobi Hiruzen asked, "What do you need?" Naruto looked at him seriously. "Was there anything left of my clan's papers after their home was burned down?" The sandaime sighed. "Yes. Why?" "As much as I dislike them, their arts _are_ my birthright." Sarutobi nodded in understanding. "There was only one scroll that survived." Reaching into a compartment in his desk, Sarutobi pulled out a thick scroll with the Uzumaki clan seal on it, a red whirlpool with small trails of crimson leaking from it. He handed it to Naruto and gave him a small smile. Naruto took the scroll from him and turned to leave. "Oh, yes. Naruto. To open the scroll, wipe some blood across the ends. Naruto nodded and left after pocketing the wealth of information. Sarutobi sighed. 'Unless he gets over his distrust of others, Naruto will definitely fail Kakashi's test.'

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On his way home, Naruto ran into Hinata on an empty street. They shied away from each other and several ninja, each of whom were aware of the Hokage's directives regarding the two, managed to inconspicuously place themselves between them. By the time Naruto reached the end of the street, he noticed that the street was crowded. He couldn't even see the girl anymore. 'That was odd…whatever. I have to read the scroll and practice for the survival training.' Naruto continued on his way.

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Please continue to give me criticism

My thanks to:

dracohalo117

Tannim McIlroy

OBSERVER01


	3. Yume no Hajimari

Sekai Ga Furu

Yume no Hajimari

Disclaimer: I only own my plot and OCs (which do not currently exist). That's it. Nothing else. All is in accordance with the prophecy.

"Speaking"

'Thought'

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"_The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness also keep out the joy."_

_~Unknown

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_

Upon returning to his apartment, Naruto placed the scroll on his bed and sat in front of it. He couldn't bring himself to open it up. 'W-what will it say? Why do I care what those people say? Am I really what everyone says I am? What should I do?' He deliberated for a while before coming to a conclusion. 'Th-They're dead anyway. If I don't have courage, how can I be a good shinobi?' Steeling himself, he bit his right thumb and smeared his blood across the scroll's ends. There was a puff of smoke followed by a small click. A necklace with the clan emblem fell out. Naruto pulled open the scroll. It read:

"_My dearest Aiko, enclosed is a necklace, handed down from one matriarch to the next. You are the one who will inherit this title. The knowledge and wisdom of your predecessors is passed down through the necklace. In the scroll itself are our family's arts. Initially listed are the general clan arts but after that are the techniques that only our family and the dead may know… _

_Wishing you the best,_

_Your mother, Uzumaki Eimi"_

'Who's Aiko? Or Eimi? I…I guess I could just read the general stuff for now…' _"The History of the Uzumaki: We came from the Land of Whirlpool. The entire clan left due to our being ostracized by the general public. What made and still makes us different from most other ninja clans and normal people is our Kill Drive. The Kill Drive is the erratic overpowering urge to shed the blood of others, friend or foe. It takes a lot of focus and meditation to suppress it without occasional lapses in control. The many murders committed due to the Kill Drive furthered the separation between the Uzumaki and the other Whirlpool residents-"_ The script after that was blackened out. Naruto skipped down the scroll. _"The Uzumaki on taijutsu: Our clan came up with a hand to hand technique that emulates the lethal claws of the-"_ The text was then blocked out but was revealed later on. _"-known mainly as the Shikan-ken. By using high speed jabs and swipes, a user of this technique can cut most opponents with only their hands. To use this technique, instead of making a fist, use the second joints of your fingers. Training for this art includes exercises for limb speed, pain tolerance, and stance structure. Applications for this art include…"_ 'Cool,' Naruto thought, 'But I can't learn a whole new style of taijutsu in one night.' He skimmed the scroll some more until he came to _"Regarding shurikenjutsu…"

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_

Naruto's alarm went off with a blaring, irritating whine. He woke with a groan. "I really should've gotten more sleep. This test is really early." Getting dressed in his blue jumpsuit, affixing new gauze for his eye, and tying a wooden fuuma-shuriken to his back, he thought to himself, 'I wonder what this test will be…' Jumping out of his window, he ran to Training Ground 7 to meet up with his team.

When he got there, Naruto was surprised to see that only Sakura and Sasuke were present. "Where's Sensei?" Sasuke shrugged and Sakura replied, "No idea." They all just ended up sitting there waiting for a few hours. Naruto began to mentally go over the jutsu he'd practiced the previous night. 'As long as I have the wires…' After waiting for a long period of time, Kakashi finally showed up. "Yo!" Sakura reacted in rage, "What the heck took you so long!" "Well, I was lost on the road of life…" Naruto sighed. "Stow it. Can we just get this test started?" _I don't want to forget any part of the technique…_ Sasuke nodded in agreement. "Let's do this already." Kakashi held up an alarm clock and pair of bentou. "You'll have until the time this clock goes off to get these," He held up two bells, "from me. Whoever gets the bells gets lunch." At this everyone's stomach growled. "Okay!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Start!" At this, the three genin leapt for cover.

Naruto started running wires along the trees in his general vicinity and looped them through many of his shuriken and kunai. He then took his wooden fuuma shuriken off of his back and went off to observe his sensei.

Kakashi stood in the middle of an apparently empty field. 'Hmm… They definitely learned intonjutsu (concealing and escape arts) properly… Too bad for them, it won't be enough to pass…' He opened his senses and found that Sakura was the closest.

Sakura's eyes widened in disbelief as her sensei looked straight at her. She suddenly felt a presence behind her and turned only to see Kakashi crouched there, his hands in the hitsuji seal. Suddenly the world seemed to warp around her and she gasped in shock. Suddenly, she found herself in a dark clearing. She heard a strangled moan of pain. "S-Sakura… tasu…kete…" She rushed to the sound's origin and saw…

* * *

Both Sasuke and Naruto heard a panicked wail echo through the training ground.

* * *

Hearing his teammate's scream, Sasuke rushed to her location to find Kakashi. Because he was setting Sakura down on the ground, Sasuke took this chance and launched a barrage of shuriken at him. Assailed by the flying blades, Kakashi was slammed into a tree. Sasuke took a closer look at what he was desperately hoping wouldn't be a corpse and was both surprised and relieved to see a log resting on the ground with shuriken embedded in it. Sasuke looked around for Kakashi. 'Where is he? Not above, not behind…' "Below You!" Hearing his sensei's warning, Sasuke immediately leapt into the air, and seeing a hand jutting from the ground, started running through hand seals. Recognizing the seals, Kakashi stared in disbelief. 'He shouldn't have enough chakra for-'**"Katon: Goukakyu no jutsu**!**"** Sasuke blew a large ball of fire at his teacher. Seeing the man's silhouette disappear, the boy stopped the jutsu. Suddenly, he saw something shine immediately in front of him, even as the orange flames before him began to die out. There was a sound, akin to that of string against metal, and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was tied against a tree's trunk with ninja wire. "You're definitely skilled for your age, but you're kinda missing the point." Kakashi leaned over him with a bored expression as Sasuke began to struggle with the wire.

Suddenly, Naruto hopped into a nearby tree and threw his fuuma-shuriken at his sensei. Kakashi leapt backwards and another Naruto came out and started to throw kunai at him as the first leapt off through the trees. Kakashi continued dodging the flying blades nearly effortlessly when Naruto finally nailed his teacher with a kunai, there was a puff of smoke and only a log remained. **"Konoha Hijutsu: Sennen Goroshi!"** He felt a huge discomfort in his rear end and burst into smoke. Realizing that he'd struck only a clone, Kakashi pursued the third member of his team to be. He found Naruto on his knees, panting in a clearing. "…Kakashi-sensei… I've caught you!"

"_Regarding shurikenjutsu, there is one technique that every Uzumaki who can throw a shuriken should at least comprehend. This is the Toukai(Blade World)after attaching shuriken and other throwing weapons to wire, rotate your chakra around the wire. This spins the blades and nearly removes the wires from view. After this step, it becomes much easier to make traps and build attacks upon one another…"_

Kakashi caught a glint to his left and saw it to be a shuriken. He jumped out of the way and heard a loud _whoosh_-ing sound. Many more shuriken flew at him from the trees. In midair, Kakashi twisted and dodged the stars. The jounin was surprised to see the blades he'd dodged change direction and come right back at him. He tried to parry them with a kunai only to hear a small _snap_ and feel a small cut appear on his arm. His eyes widened. 'There's no way he should know this technique or have any access to it…!' Rushing to Naruto, he dodged a few more blades and tossed the boy back into the clearing. There were a series of _snap_s and several bladed weapons, mainly kunai and shuriken, clattered to the ground. Inspecting the stunned boy's hands, he saw ninja wire wrapped about his fingers and wrists. The skin was rubbed raw and scabbing in places. 'So, he hasn't mastered it yet. Focusing on throwing weapons though, he's nothing like Kushina or… that man.'

* * *

The bell rang loudly, echoing across the training ground, a blaring reminder to the children of their failure.

* * *

"You all failed. Utterly. Was there even a point to all this?" The trio was tied to training logs. "I'm disappointed. You guys are the last remnants of such powerful clans and the top two students at the shinobi academy. Is this really it? Sickening." Kakashi spoke down to them, almost angry. "Do you know what this exercise was about?" Slowly the kids shook their heads. "It was teamwork! You all were so caught up in getting the bells that you didn't look underneath the underneath." Here he sighed. "I'll give you one last chance after lunch. You'll need to get it yourselves." Kakashi gestured to two bentou sitting on the ground before them. There were only two sets of chopsticks resting on them. He then walked off, obviously disappointed. The trio looked at each other and Sakura and Sasuke gave Naruto an expectant look. After a full minute, he gave them an annoyed glare.

"What?"

Sasuke spoke up. "Even if you were pretty bad at most ninja arts in the academy, you were always good with weapons, escapes, and hiding. Can't you get out or at least pull out a knife?"

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I can't reach my weapons pouch and the knot is on the other side of the post. What about you? You excelled in everything back at the academy. Or Sakura, you had the second highest scores in the academy right?"

Both of them shook their heads and Sasuke said, "Scores don't mean anything. You scored lower than Sakura and me but are the best weapon user in our class."

Sakura nodded. "I only have book knowledge, but if we all work together, we can get the lunches and hopefully get the bells." The trio nodded in agreement, though Naruto did so grudgingly.

Kakashi looked at them from his nearby hiding place. 'It looks like they're going to understand.'

Naruto noted that there was still ninja wire on his fingers. He focused chakra to them and spun it around the wire. There was a slight _whirring_ sound and Naruto moved his fingers carefully, as they were close to his torso.

Sasuke and Sakura looked on with interest as their teammate cut all of their ropes with the strange technique. Looking a little tired, he sat on the ground and sighed. Sakura and Sasuke went and picked up the bento. The trio then shared the contents, Sakura using one pair of chopsticks and the boys using the other pair. She looked at the pair with eyebrows raised in shock. Simultaneously, they turned to her. "This never happened." She giggled at their obvious discomfort.

* * *

"So, are you ready to try again?" The trio turned to see Kakashi standing right in front of them. For a brief moment, the rookie ninja had the same thought 'I couldn't sense him at all…' They nodded and their sensei spoke. "Begin!" Team 7 collectively faced their teacher and charged. Kakashi easily deflected their attacks and sent them flying. The first to recover, Sasuke pulled himself to his feet and ran to help his teammates. As he helped Naruto up, he saw that the boy looked out of it, his eyes were glazed. Not taking time to worry about it, Sasuke went to assist Sakura, who was getting to her feet. Naruto on the other hand turned dazedly toward his sensei. 'He might betray me… Like _Mizuki_...' He then looked at his teammates. 'Why should I trust anyone… I won't let _anyone_ fool me…' To his vision, everything began to fade. He saw a series of black and white images, a village full of corpses and discarded weapons, an ocean of blood, and finally, a pale, cold moon in a black sky' Everything made sense and nothing was understood. There was a mental _click_ and his injured eye felt so much _hotter_, like it was burning. The gauze over it felt like it was rubbing painfully against his eye. With a wince, Naruto tore the gauze off. The eye, once blue, was now a dull red. There was a glowing red sigil wrapped around his pupil. It bore the shape of a bird. A crane…

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Thank you for waiting for me to update and please let me know how I can improve this story and my writing.

Once again, thank you.


	4. Yume no Hajimari part 2

Sekai Ga Furu

Yume no Hajimari part 2

Disclaimer: If you don't know by now, I'll tell you again. I don't own the NARUTO franchise, no matter how much I may wish to.

"Speaking"

_Thought

* * *

_

_The usage of geass isn't inherently evil or wrong. It depends on one's usage of this power to define self. In the end, the only thing one can be sure of is that one is who they are…_

_

* * *

_

Kakashi observed his student. _Something seems __off_… Sasuke and Sakura charged toward Kakashi and engaged him in a match of taijutsu. At one point, the jounin jumped over both of their heads. _Now, I just have to deal with Uzumaki. I'll just rush at him from this tree trunk._ Naruto heard this, and threw four shuriken at the tree that the man was heading toward. Even as he did this, he felt a sense of relief. His eye finally felt cool, the persistent warmth had finally ceased. Caught completely by surprise, one of the blades pierced Kakashi's shoulder. _H-how?! How could he know where I was going to go?_ Kakashi dropped to the ground and Naruto threw more shuriken at where he was going to land. Using one hand, the jounin flipped off the tree trunk toward Sakura. "Sakura!" Naruto shouted, "Above you!" Heeding the warning, the girl threw a pair of shuriken directly upward, only to jump out of the way of a falling log as their teacher had used a kawarimi. "Sasuke, he's coming right behind you!" Seeing as his teammate was right before, Sasuke put his hands in the tiger seal **"Katon: Endan!"**

* * *

Hinata was _bored_. She'd expected this "real" genin test to be hard, but all she had to do was find her new sensei, Yuuhi Kurenai, in their training ground. Her teammates, Inuzuka-san and Aburame-san had abilities that were specifically made for reconnaissance. Her Byakugan was no exception. Even though they couldn't find her, they were being forced to work together to find the woman before noon. Hinata found her team to be…acceptable. Inuzuka-san could be a little annoying, but he tended to have his funny moments. Aburame-san on the other hand was always calm and collected. He and Inuzuka-san gave their team balance. Suddenly, she saw a very well developed chakra network in a female's silhouette. "Aburame-san! Inuzuka-san! Three o'clock!"

Shino nodded and Kiba called out. "Got it!" Hinata stood directly in front of her teacher having already seen her. Using his insects to pinpoint the jounin, Shino stood at a different angle, facing her. Kiba used his sense of smell and confirmation from his Nin-ken Akamaru to find the team's sensei, finishing the triangle of students surrounding her. To Kiba's eyes, his sensei appeared to shimmer into view.

"Well done. You could have used less time in the first place, but as a team, you'll gradually improve. Welcome to Team 8." The red eyed woman said with a small smile. "Make sure to get plenty of rest. Our first mission will be tomorrow." The trio visibly relaxed in relief. With that last order, Yuuhi Kurenai left her team to their own devices. Finding no further reason to stay there, Hinata and Shino left with Kiba wondering about the lack of team spirit.

* * *

Kakashi leapt out of the way of the small fireball only to have kunai thrown at him by Sakura and Naruto. As he dodged, Naruto put his hands in a specific seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Nonchalantly, Kakashi turned to the young Uchiha boy.

"Oh? A normal low level fire technique? I guess one _good_ technique is your limit."

"**Henge!" ** Naruto's clone became a fuuma shuriken. Sakura and Sasuke charged their teacher fully intent on making him eat his words. Kakashi simply sent them flying just in time to duck under an object that whistled through the air. The pair of genin-to-be were knocked into unconsciousness.

"Nice throw Naruto. However, I'm not a practice dummy for you to throw things at." The boy growled and rushed toward his teacher only to stumble and fall to the ground. _W-what? My body won't… move…_ Forcing himself, Naruto got to all fours. His vision swam and his eye burned as he heard a dark chuckle in the back of his head. _Crap! That was the monster's power! I was a fool and went along with it…_

Kakashi chuckled a little. "That was anticlimactic…" Naruto's vision went dark.

* * *

When he woke up, Naruto saw that he was tied on the pole again along with his teammates. "Good to see that everyone is awake. You all failed the original mission-" The trio looked down in disappointment. "-But since you all completed the true purpose of this test, you are all my subordinates. You all are now officially Team 7." The three ninja, even as they were uncut from the pole, were unsure if they should be beaming in happiness or crying in fear. Judging by this ridiculously difficult test, their time under Kakashi would be frustrating.

* * *

Naruto was finally able to move again. _That wait was too long just to get untied. If I rely on them, I'll have to deal with delays like these. On another note, the Kyuubi's power burned most of my chakra, at least temporarily. I shouldn't use it but…I finally felt safe. No one can betray me if I use it._ He got up and walked away from the training ground after being dismissed by Kakashi. His stomach growled in protest. _After I eat, I guess I'll continue training. The toukai wasn't even close to being done._ The last Uzumaki eventually arrived at his home and made instant yakisoba (A/N I'm tired of always hearing about ramen. Since this is AU, I figured, "Why not?") He realized that the necklace from the scroll was still on his table, so he made an attempt to move it so he could finally sate his hunger. The second his hand came in contact with the jewelry, everything seemed to go hazy then swirl and fade to black.

* * *

Naruto groaned and slowly got up from his futon. His head was killing him! Taking in his surroundings, he found that this wasn't his bedroom. Now on guard, he slowly crept into the adjoining room. It was an anachronistic bathroom. He saw a huge furo in the middle of the room and on a whim, slowly approached it. What he saw shocked him. Staring dumbly, he took in the long red hair that hung behind his head in a ponytail, large red eyes that bore the crimson of a bloody massacre yet displayed a strange innocence, a feminine face and part of a sleeping kimono finished the water's image. Raising his no trembling hand to his mouth and seeing the image in the water do the exact same with hers, they screamed. **"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!"**

**

* * *

**

Hinata was always a little on guard when in the Hyuuga Estate. Everyone seemed to avoid her or watch her. The only people that treated her normally were her father and sister, the clan's heiress. Neither sibling was sure as to why, but it had always been that way as long as they could remember. As she walked to her room, she overheard something that caught her interest from one of the rooms on the hallway that she was traversing. "So, you're saying that the container has been fixed for the _most part_? When will the repairs be finished? You already told me that it would shatter if…allowances weren't made, but we need to tie up all loose ends before _he_ finds out!"

"Hold your tongue! Someone could easily have overheard you."

"…right. I'll check." Without knowing why, Hinata hurried past the room, fearing that she would be discovered by the obviously suspicious, yet familiar sounding men. When she got to her room, her heart was pounding in fear. _I could _feel _their chakra! If they'd caught me I would have been helpless. But if I were stronger… If I feared nothing…_

Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Hanabi were concerned when the girl didn't show up for lunch in the afternoon… "Father, should I go and see what is wrong with Hinata-nee?"

"Yes, I'm getting worried."

Hanabi rose from her seat and quickly walked to her elder sister's room. She quietly knocked on the door. "Please come in Hanabi-chan."

"Nee-chan," The younger girl said in astonishment, "You aren't supposed to use the Byakugan when in the compound!"

Hinata replied but was facing away from her sister. "I know that, which is why I didn't use it. Don't take this the wrong way, but, at least for a moment, I could smell you." Hanabi gave her an odd look.

"W-what do you…" She stopped short as Hinata turned to face her. The whisker-like birthmarks on her cheeks were showing, as she didn't bother hiding them with the usual genjutsu. Her eyes seemed to flicker red for the briefest instant.

"Ne, Hanabi-chan," she said in an eerily dull voice, "Did you know that you and Father are the only people I relax around? Even so… there are things that everyone keeps secret from others." Hinata's eyes got a dull red gleam at this and Hanabi shivered

_Killing intent? Or is it…_

"O-onee-chan? What do you mean?"

"Hanabi-chan, do you fear me?" Hinata reached out to her younger sister. Hanabi flinched.

"N-no." She felt a soft pressure on the crown of her head. Hinata mussed her sister's hair.

"Oh? That's good then." Hinata gave her sister a small smile, all previous strangeness forgotten.

* * *

The Kyuubi no Kitsune sat patiently within the seal. **"I can't believe that my container is this vulnerable, this easy to manipulate. The sooner I get that servant near it, the sooner I can break out of this pathetic sack of flesh. He's already granted me an eyeful of this village's defenses. I so hate leaving a job halfway done… It will only be a matter of time…"**

* * *

Sorry if you disliked me making Kakashi a jerk, but he was merely goading his students so that he could properly test their combat abilities.

To hysterikku: It is based on the basic taijutsu of the general ninja, as well as leopard fist kung-fu.

To OBSERVER01, dracohalo117, Tannim McIlroy, and Akira Stridder: I thank you for the reviews and please keep reading.


	5. Unmei no Tatakai

Sekai Ga Furu

Unmei no Tatakai

Disclaimer: See previous chapter's disclaimer. (So what if I'm being lazy?)

* * *

"Speaking"

_Thought

* * *

_

The girl mentioned in last chapter has a habit of referring to herself as _Jibun_ (One's self) when not trying to be courtly, in which case she uses _Soregashi (The archaic formal "I")_.

* * *

"_You can discover more about a person in a moment of play_

_Than in a year of conversation"_

_~Plato_

* * *

"Wa-sama! Wouldst thou be alright?"(A/N: Sorry, but I'm trying to go for the effect of keigo. Tell me if it works for you. If not, I shall cease using this form of English.) Several armed ladies rushed into the bathroom at the scream's resounding.

Naruto was too stunned to reply, but instead felt the body move on its own. "Calm yourselves. This one is fine." It felt like within the body he was being pushed aside. _It feels like my senses are dulled. I can barely smell or feel._ The body straightened itself and spoke again. "Have there been any new attacks? There were rumors of Uzu no Kuni calling in the Geass Cult."

One woman, apparently the one in charge responded. She had waist length red hair and was wearing iron gauntlets over the sleeves of her clothing, which was basically a karate gi with hakama instead of pants. "I know not. However, Wa-sama, I apologize for my impudence, but today thy presence has been requested by thy mother and father."

"What about, Suiko?"

"Lord and Lady Uzumaki referred to a military deal to prevent the army from endangering thee."

"Hm, fine then. This one shall demonstrate that she is no mere delicate flower petal floating at the water's edge. She is the future Lady Uzumaki. The most potent whirlpool in the endless sea."

"If you would permit me to be so bold, milady, thou soundest very confident for one who's never proved herself in combat, as is our way."

Wa seemed to fall into a depression. She muttered quietly. "This one knows that her parents are overprotective…*mumble*…Even so, couldn't they have let her go on her own kills and such? *mumble* Why is this one such a failure at being a proper woman?…*mumble*"

Suiko tried to console her lady. "Milady, in due time you'll be going on your own missions and proving your status and worth, so you shouldn't worry about it."

Wa's countenance seemed to improve.

One of Suiko's assistants tried to help. "Thou art only 12, so thou hast time to grow into being a lady."

Wa hung her head and seemed to sink into despair once again. She began to mumble again. "Not yet ladylike…"

* * *

After Wa's retainers had managed to calm her down, they dressed her in one of her normal kimono. At this, Naruto was still embarrassed. He'd rather not have seen his ancestor in a state of undress. It had sleeves long enough to hide her hands with extra space and compartments for hidden kunai. Underneath the kimono, she wore a basic gi with cut off sleeves. She walked, with Suiko following as a bodyguard, to her parent's home. The room she was invited to, the sitting room, was very bland. Its walls were made of unpainted wood and smelt of pines. On the wall before which her parents sat, there was a large depiction of the bloody whirlpool etched into the wall. Upon entering, she sat in seiza before them on the tatami floor. "Honorable father and mother, I bid you a good morning."

Suiko dropped to seiza in the background.

Lord Uzumaki looked to his wife who gave him a nod. Seeing this, he turned back to his daughter. "Good morning, my daughter. We have wonderful news. Our victory in this war is all but assured. We have an alliance with the Kairou clan."

"Would you be meaning that green-eyed band of warmongerers?"

"You shouldn't have bias toward others Wa. Without them, many of our warriors would die in the coming battles."

"But Father-"

Lady Uzumaki then began to speak. "…The alliance will be sealed with your marriage to their heir."

Naruto was shocked at the news, as was Wa. She focused on the bloody whirlpool insignia behind her parents and took in a steady breath. "I…I will do as my position and superiors dictate."

Before checking with his wife, Lord Uzumaki spoke to his daughter. "You needn't be so stiff. For all you know, you may like the boy."

Lady Uzumaki gave him a warning glance, telling him that later, they would have words.

"Wa, your devotion to duty is acknowledged. You must prepare for your wedding rites."

Seeing her chance to go to the battlefield, Wa seized it. "Dearest parents, I mean no disrespect as to your judgment, but one of the requirements to become marriageable is to be an adult by making one's first kill and presenting it to Oinari-sama. I have been unable to do this due to your wishes. That being said, please allow me to fulfill the Uzumaki clan rite of passage."

Lady Uzumaki nodded. "I will grant that request. However, you must remember this: Your death is unforgivable."

Wa bowed and took her leave.

Lady Uzumaki turned to her husband. "_Anata_ I do sincerely hope that your speaking out of turn was merely a mistake…"

Lord Uzumaki began to sweat. "O-of course dear."

* * *

With the help of her retainers, Wa dressed in a battle kimono. It was blue with the bloody whirlpool on the back. Underneath it, she wore iron gauntlets just as Suiko did as well as thin plate armor. Wa peeled up the floorboards and pulled out two tachi. "Oinari-sama is a patron deity of blades, so this one will use only these. Is that proper, Suiko?"

"Of course Wa-sama."

"Before this one goes however, she didn't get the chance for her morning warm-up. Shall we?"

"Of course, Wa-sama."

Wa drew the two long blades and held them in a reverse grip, the sharp weapons touching behind her back as she leaned forward slightly and lightly crouched. Naruto felt oddly comfortable standing like this. His senses suddenly seemed sharper. He clearly felt the the firm and slightly cold grips of the tachi. He could smell the slight scents of the room. Suiko was standing opposite Wa in the room. She got into a cat stance with the sides of her open hands facing her lady. Suddenly, Wa, and by extension Naruto, blurred into motion. The only thing visible was the spark of the separating blades, before Suiko caught a tachi on her gauntlet. Keeping her momentum, Wa kept attacking, stab, horizontal strike, vertical strike, she kept swinging the huge blades like they were normal knives. Suiko's arms were a blur as she parried every strike. "That's it Wa-sama. Thou just needest more fluidity with the Oinari-ken's Fangs."

"This one *pant* understands this *pant* but you always say that when she uses the First Fang."

Suddenly Suiko's whole body seemed to disappear. Wa was knocked to the ground and she saw her weapons in Suiko's hands. "If thou werest more fluid, Wa-sama, then thou wouldst be giving fewer chances to be disarmed or killed."

Wa hopped to her feet and took back her blades. The felt her fangs, a trait of the Uzumaki, and to her shame, the Kairou, lengthen as her Kill Drive rose ever so slightly. "Shall we continue Suiko?" _This one still doesn't have full control, but…_ Her grip on her blades tightened and she directed the sharp side at her retainer. _She only needs to keep focused. _Wa and Naruto once again blurred into action.

* * *

Naruto jerked awake with a headache and the necklace in his hand. His right hand was extended as if swinging one of the tachi. Completely forgetting about his yakisoba, he stared at the jewelry in shock. _That was strange. That was my ancestor? And the Kill Drive, does it really feel like that? I've never felt it, so strongly. Maybe one of my parents wasn't Uzumaki? Mizuki told me most of the stuff that I know about my family, so was it all worthless?_ He pulled out the first kunai that sempai had given him. (It should be obvious who this person is, given Naruto's skill set.) _Sempai also taught me things. She even though she didn't know Mizuki sensei, I shouldn't trust her, but for some reason, I don't feel like she'll betray me… If it wasn't for her, I'd only be able to throw fuuma shuriken. She said that she'd teach me 'that' when I graduated, but I've barely seen her so far. She called it the most necessary skill for a weapon using ninja._ Naruto looked out of his window and saw that it was evening. _I'll have to find her tomorrow. _Unknown to Naruto, when he was half awake, he put his familial jewelry around his neck.

* * *

The next day, Team 7 met up at the training ground that they'd used last time. Well most of Team 7 was there… "Where the heck is Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura called out in aggravation. Sasuke and Naruto sighed. "You know," Sasuke said, "Yelling probably won't make him get here any sooner." No sooner had Sasuke made that remark, did Kakashi appear in a burst of smoke. "Sorry guys. I know you were probably waiting for me but…I have to go to a meeting, so I asked another jounin to train you."

The three rookie ninja each looked disappointed. "You know," Naruto remarked, "That kind of lowers my opinion of you…"

* * *

A few moments later, Team 8 walked into the clearing led by Yuuhi Kurenai. "Hello. I take it that you are Team 7?" Naruto's team nodded. "Then I'll be in charge of your training today. That being said, you probably already know them, but this is Team 8, Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Inuzuka Kiba."

Sakura, speaking for her team, said. "We are Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto. And who are you m'am?"

"Yuuhi Kurenai. Leader of Team 8."

"Since we're done with introductions," Kiba interjected, "can we start training?"

Kurenai nodded and began to give instructions. "First, do seven laps around the clearing at full speed."

The rookies immediately sprang to action. The disparities in speed were fairly obvious. Fastest was Kiba, followed by Sasuke, and then Hinata, then Naruto, then Shino, and lastly, though barely behind, was Sakura.

When the genin finished their warm up, Kurenai set them up as pairs. "Okay, here are your pairings. Hinata is with Naruto, Sakura with Kiba, and Shino with Sasuke. As long as you're careful, you may use some of you nin and genjutsu. You can't use your weapons though."

Hinata found herself strangely excited. They would be permitted to go nearly all out! She never got to let loose. Father had always said to be careful of her sparring partners. Now however…

Naruto felt a little nervous. Had he improved at all since the genin exam? He couldn't use the Kyuubi's power (Or was it a curse?), so how could he fight without using his kunai or shuriken? He knew that his taijutsu sucked. _Maybe I should have at least read more about the shikanken._ On top of that, what if his Kill Drive activated? He had no way of stopping himself besides Lady Wa's thoughts about focus. Suddenly, his stomach growled. _Oh…I missed two meals yesterday._

"Okay," Kurenai called out, "Kiba and Sakura are up first." The two ninja faced each other and got into their respective stances. "Start!"

Hearing this, Kiba rushed Sakura, his hands like claws. Sakura quickly ran through seals and called out, **"Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Sakura and her images hopped back in the basic academy taijutsu stance. Kiba cut through one and it faded away leaving three other Sakuras. One of them ran and kicked at him. Kiba ducked and took a swipe at her. As he did that, another did the same and nailed him in the nose. The Sakura he'd struck at in the first place faded as well. Kiba clutched his nose with a grunt and then knocked Sakura down in retaliation. Releasing his nose, which was bleeding a little, he pinned her to the ground and placed his hand on her throat.

Here, Kurenai stopped the match. "Good job. Next are Hinata and Naruto."

* * *

Kakashi slowly walked into the dark office. "You asked to see me sir?"

The third hokage leaned forward, his shadow, coupled with the darkness, robbing him of every aspect of physiognomic humanity. "Yes. Please sit."

Kakashi did so, sitting down gingerly. The room's atmosphere was one that demanded absolute silence from all within its dominion.

Kakashi waited for his leader to speak. As the minutes dragged on, the silence, at first merely oppressing, began to attack, pounding in his head. _Or is that my heartbeat?_ The beating went through a slow but steady crescendo and just as it became unbearable…

"I called you here to discuss one of your students. Uzumaki Naruto." The Sandaime Hokage said in an even voice.

"What about him, Hokage-sama?"

"I need you and your team to open him up emotionally. He can't be used for the betterment of the village if he doesn't trust his peers and superiors."

"Wouldn't it be better to find a therapist or something instead?"

"That would reduce the amount of time that he could be doing things for our village, and eventually he'll find out who his father was, so he'll need a reason to stay in our village."

"What is so important that we'd need to take such precautions to keep him in our village Hokage-sama?"

"Our greatest weapons need a key even if one of them isn't primed yet."

"Greatest weapons?"

"Don't let _it_ concern you Hatake Kakashi."

"Al-alright…Yes sir."

"You may go."

Kakashi left, a slight worry betrayed on his features. Though he didn't show it, he barely held in a fit of trembling upon leaving the crushing room. It was like a weight the size of the Kyuubi had been lifted from him the second he'd returned to the world of sound.

_And now I've gotten him concerned about _them_… _Sarutobi Hiruzen thought. _Good._

* * *

Naruto threw an overhand cross at his sparring partner. Hinata easily knocked the blow upwards and struck him in the solar plexus simultaneously. Naruto stumbled back, gasping for air as she struck him on the chin, knocking him flat on his back. As she rushed toward him to finish the match, Naruto out his hand together in the tiger seal as he leaned forward. "Katon: Endan!" Hinata leapt back to avoid it only to see that Naruto didn't actually do anything.

"What was that supposed to be?"

"A bluff." He put his hands in a cross shaped seal. "But this one isn't. **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" Four Narutos appeared and charged the Hyuuga girl. Hinata took in a deep breath and focused. When the first clone tried to attack her, she spun with its swing (which was _very_ sloppy) and elbowed its spine causing it to dispel into smoke.

Kurenai watched the match in surprise. _I'd heard that Naruto had learned the technique, but he doesn't even look very tired from it and he has a genin's chakra levels, possibly below that. Some people are full of surprises. That being said, Hinata can easily use the juken. It's as if she spends all of her time practicing it, which would be bad for her growth._

The second clone tried to throw a kick at Hinata, but she ducked under it and caught its leg. She swung it into the third clone, making them both disappear. Naruto stared at her, wide eyed. _She's ridiculously strong!_ His last clone threw a flurry of blows at the Jinchuuriki, only for her to simply lean back and kick him in the ribs. There was a cracking sound and the clone vanished like the rest. She began to advance on the genuine article when he called out with a tinge of nervousness. "N- ne, Kurenai-sensei?"

"Yes?"

"You said we could use any ninjutsu as long as we didn't use weapons right?"

"…I did."

"Then can I use a ninjutsu that involves weapons as long as I don't hit anyone with them?"

"I don't see why not, but you must be _very_ careful."

Seeing the jounin's acquiescence, Sasuke smirked. _I've wanted to see the top taijutsu user and weapon user of our year face off…_

Naruto let out a small smile and reached into his weapons pouch and kunai holster.

Hinata instinctively flinched back, remembering one of their classes, where they were doing target practice.

* * *

**Flashback

* * *

**

_Most students managed, sometimes barely, to throw ten kunai and actually hit the target five times. Naruto on the other hand…_

"_Pfft! Why does everyone act like it's hard!?" The blond haired boy confidently said when it was his turn, "Watch this!" Most students assumed he was merely blowing hot air. With an easy smile, he began throwing weapons._

- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk- Thunk. _They all landed in a neat circle around the bull's-eye. "_

"_Nicely done Naruto." Mizuki said as Iruka nodded in agreement._

_Naruto seemed to be in his own little world. His eyes had slightly glazed over and his face showed relaxed concentration as his arms seemed to blur a little. _ !

"_Naruto you can stop!"_

Thunkthunkthunk-

"_Stop!!"

* * *

_

**Flashback End

* * *

**

Hinata knew full well that she didn't want to be anywhere _near_ him when he got like that. It was like seeing a stream of metal.

Naruto began to throw kunai at her and she dove out of the way of the first dozen. She hopped back to her feet and began running as he continued to throw weapons, his face nearly as it had been in their class. She noticed something however. _He seems to always aim about a foot above my head…_ Suddenly he threw one really high. And it hit the tree that she was running past all the way near the top. She stopped running in confusion. She saw a small glint in the air as Naruto placed his hands in the tiger seal and then slammed his hands to the ground. **"Uzumaki Ninpou: Toukai!" **Naruto cringed in pain as he felt flesh tear, but Hinata was too focused on her current problem to notice. There was a sound of grinding metal and a series of sparks fell down toward her. Before she could react to that, a wave of kunai fell toward her as well as Naruto made strange movements with his hands and fingers. Hinata drew a kunai, hoping to protect herself from the seemingly deadly onslaught. _Wh-what the-_

Kurenai grabbed the wires attached to Naruto's hands and pulled them down to the ground, stopping the Uzumaki boy's technique. Hinata slumped to the floor appearing relieved even as she felt a different emotion. _That was…exciting. No one has ever put up that kind of challenge until now… I actually froze. Was it fear? I'll need to face him again and fix that flaw. Tou-san said that it is unacceptable for a Hyuuga to hesitate in fulfilling her duty and I won't be a failure._

"Now Naruto, is there a reason for which you tried to kill a fellow shinobi of the leaf?" Kurenai asked him with a stern expression.

Naruto looked appalled at her question. "I wouldn't even try that. Watch." He got her to let go of the wires and the blades flew down once again only to stop exactly where they were when Kurenai interrupted his technique. "I don't need my hands to get any more red."

"More red?" She asked.

"It's-" _Mizuki's blood still stains me…_"-It's nothing." Naruto replied. He found that he had to resist the urge to lick up the 'blood' on his hands.

Kurenai looked at his hands and pulled out a bandage. "Wrap up your hands, they're bleeding."

Naruto snapped out of his trauma and guilt induced haze and took the bandage. "Y-yes. Thank you Sensei." Suddenly, his stomach loudly grumbled. Naruto's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as he realized that he'd missed dinner the previous evening. Ignoring the uncomfortable moment, he unrolled the bandage and began wrapping his hands.

"Last up are Sasuke and Shino."

Sasuke stood in the middle of the clearing. _That match was kind of dull. I expected it to be a lot more entertaining. *sigh* Well, I'll just have to show them how it's done._

Shino stood facing Sasuke, his hands in his pockets. _Judging from his body language, the best course of pre-combat action would be…_

_

* * *

_

To say that Sasuke was surprised would be an understatement. He'd been so very close to losing to Shino in their match. If Shino had dodged that last fireball, then he'd have been collapsed on the floor instead.

00

Once Shino had recovered, Kurenai was about to begin their next exercise, when Kakashi popped up in a burst of smoke. "Yo!" Everyone looked at him blankly. "I'm here to take back my students. Thanks for the favor, Kurenai-san"

The red-eyed woman waved it off.

* * *

"Since you all are warmed up," Kakashi began, "We'll start doing some intensive training to find your strengths and weaknesses." He did an eye smile that seemed to bring forth feelings of fear and despair, rather than comfort.

000

After Kakashi had left with Team 7, Kurenai had decided to have her team do more training to help them improve their skills. She had seen flaws in the combat styles of her team during their sparring match. It would be best to nip certain bad habits in the bud and correct the errors in their technique execution.

* * *

By the day's end, both Hinata and Naruto would be horribly sore, as would the rest of their teammates. In the evening, interesting dreams would find the two rookie shinobi.

* * *

Unknown to all, in a small, abandoned shrine in the land of whirlpool, a guardian fox statue opened its mouth with the sound of clinking chain and grinding stone. A blood red slip of paper would be visible in the tenebrous maw of the statue. A voice, haunting, deep, and echoing, would resound through the ravaged shrine of Inari Okami, the deity of blades, rice, and foxes.

**"Kono Sekai ga…**

**Owaru…**

**Sore wa waga no yogen de aru.**

**Tadashi, futari wo koroseba, **

**ningen wa ikite koto ga dekiru…"**

* * *

A/N: I'm not very confident in my Nihongo, but the intended meaning of the bold text was, "This world…will end…That is my(our) prediction. However, should the two die, man will be able to live."

Also, the reason for which Lord Uzumaki was subservient to his wife is that the Uzumaki, in my story anyway, were extremely matriarchal to the point that men need permission to speak when not given leave by their better half or another woman.

Please review, for I do not have high confidence in this chapter.


	6. Yume Wa Awaseta

I don't own Naruto because my name is not and most likely never will be Kishimoto Masashi.

* * *

Yume wa Awaseta

* * *

_"There is more to truth than just the facts"_

_~Unknown  
_

* * *

Hinata was in a dark void. She couldn't see anything, even herself. "H-hello?" She called out, "Is anyone there?" There was on response or indication that she wasn't on her own. _Could this be…Yomi?_

Slowly, a dull red glow rose into her field of vision. She heard an unintelligible, quiet, yet high pitched series of sounds. The glow shimmered and slowly became an image. Before she could fully make out what it was, she was thrust into it. A loud roar echoed in her ears and she shut her eyes in pain. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a night sky, with beautifully shimmering stars against the curtain of black-blue. The moon was a huge pale disk sending light down to the world like a beacon. It was a beautiful night-the kind written of in romance novels, where the main character would spend their time in the arms of their beloved. She took a few steps, taking in her surroundings. The one thing that ruined this effect was the smoke rising into the air and the stench of burning corpses and buildings. Anguished cries pierced the air. She looked down and saw a pair of paws and small…_things_ crumpled beneath them, leaking a red substance that glittered in the moonlight. Hinata leaned her head down and saw that the little things were _people_. She screamed in shock, but only heard a loud, spine shuddering roar echo through the area. The little people made their high pitched wails in response. Many of them then began swarming her. Feeling threatened, Hinata willed them away, and she felt an appendage, one of nine behind her shiver and then several large orange-red spikes flew everywhere, destroying all.

Suddenly, one of the small people jumped at her from a tree. It was carrying two long objects that reflected the moonlight and were about as long as its body. It threw one of them at her and the object sunk into her shoulder. Hinata wailed in anguish.

* * *

Naruto once gain found himself in the body of Uzumaki Wa. She was crouched on the floor catching her breath. "Hah…hah…Suiko, you are too fast for this one to catch up."

"If that is the case, then thou must improve on both her technique and execution," Suiko said as she flexed her hand, cracking the knuckles, "It may be best for thee to use more than just blade arts, if I may be so bold."

Wa shook her head. "That would be avoiding tradition would it not?"

Suiko quickly replied. "It would be better for you to fail in following tradition to the letter than for you to die, Wa-sama."

"You shouldn't say such things Suiko, even in private."

Suiko seemed to struggle with herself before she spoke in a soft, slightly sad voice. "Y-you are correct. Please forgive my rudeness Wa-sama."

Wa quickly spoke. "This one thanks you for your care for her Suiko. It's good that this one has such a wonderful friend. Ever since childhood, you have watched out for this one. Thank you."

Suiko hesitantly replied. "Y-yes. It is a greater honor than I deserve, to be thy friend."

Wa leveled her tachi at Suiko once more as she changed the subject. "Please, let us continue until this one has increased her skill with this Fang."

Suiko nodded and got back into a combative stance. "Please refrain from holding thyself back, Wa-sama."

Wa once again crossed her blades behind her and rushed her vassal with a sparks appearing at the blades' separation. _This one must flow through her strikes, if one fails, then she must simply move into the next. Focus on only the exchange of blows, not on the Kill Drive, only on the fight._

Suiko blocked the first two blows and moved to counter with a shuto to Wa's shoulder.

Wa rotated her torso out of the way and slashed upward with the blade closest to her friend, forcing Suiko to step back.

Suiko then bounced forward on the balls of her feet, barely completing her retreating step, before rushing forward with a punch to Wa's solar plexus. Wa slipped to the side and kicked at Suiko's ribs. Suiko dodged and feinted a hook, only to rotate her body and strike Wa across the face with a spinning backfist. Wa spun with the strike and stabbed at Suiko with one of her tachi. Suiko was caught by surprise as she tried to sidestep and a loud screech filled the room as Wa's blade dug into the armor that Suiko was wearing. A thick gash appeared in Suiko's gi and the armor beneath it. There was a quiet trickling sound as blood slowly trickled out of the gash. Suiko was breathing a little more heavily. Wa rushed to her and started to panic. "Suiko! This one will get a doctor!"

Suiko shook her head. "I asked thee to not hold back…Ungh!...so do not think for a second that one shallow cut such as this shall hinder me."

Suiko rushed toward her lady, striking swiftly. Wa received several quick but damaging strikes to her face and torso. Forgetting her blades and dropping them in shock, Wa began striking back with the Shikanken. She sliced and jabbed, flaring her chakra through her knuckles as she struck. After a few screeching sounds, the two separated, panting. There were more gashes in Suiko's gi and grooves and pits in her armor. Wa on the other hand had visible bruises on her face and could feel more all over her torso. "S-suiko, what the heck was that about?"

Her attendant dropped to one knee gasping. "Wa-sama, thou mustn't show mercy on anyone that would be thy enemy. Even if one close to thee were to give assault, thou must tear them to shreds for the audacity… Hn!" She collapsed bonelessly to the ground, her face paling.

"Suiko!" Wa cried, concerned for her friend's health. She cradled her body and called out for help. "Quickly! I need a doctor!" Once again, many armed women rushed in.

"Wa-sama! What is the- Suiko! We'll get her to the clan doctor right away my lady!"

With that, the band of women, who were Uzumaki Wa's guards, left in a rush.

Wa was left to her thoughts. _Is that all there is to it? Killing those who wish this one harm? This one knows that she needs to complete the ritual to become an adult, but why is everything that we do suffused with the deaths of others? No matter where we were in the clan's history, there was only violence. There must be something that this one's missing._

One of Wa's guardswomen returned. "Wa-sama, Suiko was safely transported to the doctor."

"This one thanks you. You may leave."

Wa clutched her head. She didn't know why, but her Kill Drive was rising. Oh, what a wonderful feeling it would be to tear apart the flesh of the next one who neared her! She shook her head and took in a deep breath. _No, this one merely needs to calm down._ Wa tried to slow her breathing and focus.

* * *

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he winced at the pain in his injured eye. He then felt throbbing pains all over his body. He got out of bed and walked to his mirror. Naruto gasped. His entire torso and parts of his face were completely bruised. _What the- My dream! Dreams don't do that to people, but how else would I get all of these bruises?_

* * *

After eating breakfast, Naruto went out to his team's training grounds. _If Sensei will be late every day, I might as well get some training in beforehand._ With that thought in mind, he launched right into training in the Toukai. He threw a series of kunai and shuriken with wires attached. **"Uzumaki Ninpou: Toukai!"** His hands moved in a strange pattern of motions. To the naked eye it seemed that several blades were dancing freely through the air, producing sparks when they'd clash. Naruto allowed himself to relax as he did it. It was like a form of meditation.

"Yo, Naruto." Uchiha Sasuke walked up to his teammate.

"Sasuke-san. Good morning." Naruto didn't look up from his exercise.

Leaving it at that, Sasuke faced away from his teammate and began practicing on his own as well. He started to shadowbox, using movements as complex as he could.

After about fifteen minutes, the pair ceased exercising. "Hey, Naruto."

"What do you want?"

"Since we're a team and all…shouldn't we work on teamwork?"

Naruto knew he didn't want to acquiesce, to place trust in someone he barely knew, who knew _Mizuki_ as well, but he couldn't find a good reason not to. "*sigh* What do you have in mind?"

With that, the pair of shinobi started to work together, sort of.

* * *

A while later Sakura came running to the training ground. "Ah! Sorry I'm late!"

Sasuke and Naruto paused and looked at their fellow genin. Sasuke gave her a response. "You probably can't be late; Sensei will always get here later than you."

"Yo!"

_What a coincidence._

It was Kakashi. "Let's get started. We're going to go on our first mission as a team. He saw the excited gazes of his students and laughed a little on the inside. _When they find out what the mission will be, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces._

* * *

Hinata, for once, was content. Kurenai-sensei had her team spar again. Hinata was currently pitted against Inuzuka Kiba. Her mind was moving really quickly. Whenever she saw Kiba strike at her, she'd see an unprotected point and strike. Even though she wasn't using chakra with her juken, she would strike at all available opportunities, just as Father would want her to. As was expected, a few moments later Kiba was laying prone on the ground, gasping for breath.

Kurenai was a bit shocked at the actions of her kunoichi junior. The girl's actions in combat were …vicious. Her face and posture conveyed no animosity or emotion, but she would strike incessantly, only stopping when her opponent could apparently no longer continue. She still winced a little in her mind at when Kiba accidentally lost his balance. Hinata had quickly given him a palm strike to the chest, another to the chin, a chop to the neck, three more strikes to the ribs, and a final spinning hook kick to the jaw. That series of blows was executed unrelentingly. Kurenai could bet that if Kiba hadn't fallen to the ground at that moment, Hinata would have continued to beat him without pause until he passed out or died. It was chilling to see that type of behavior in such a young girl. "Hinata, what's gotten into you? You weren't acting like this yesterday."

Hinata merely looked at her teacher and didn't say anything.

Kurenai remembered the sheer shock and bit of fear on the face of the normally unfazed girl when she sparred with Uzumaki Naruto. "Could it have something to do with Uzumaki?"

At this remark, the Hyuuga girl froze.

Kiba, who'd gotten his breath back by this point, remarked, "Oh, is _Hinata-chan_ getting a crush?" and started laughing.

Hinata's face bore a very subtle frown. That was most definitely _not_ the case. She gave him a less than full strength kick to the ribs that she didn't punch previously.

"Gah!"

Shino simply watched his teammates interact, doing his equivalent of a laugh. (Though that isn't saying much give the boy's stoicism)

"Shino," Kurenai called out, "Would you like to spar with Hinata next?"

The bug user paled slightly and began to subtly decline.

* * *

"Okay, I'm in position."

"Roger that. So am I. How about you, Sasuke?"

"…In position."

"Okay, team. On three. One…two…three!"

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke jumped out from cover and tried to tackle their target.

"Nya!" The target struggled desperately for a few moments, and then gave up on escape.

The team was covered in scratches, but Sakura called out. "Target captured, Sensei."

Kakashi stood a few meters away and called out. "Let's go back to the Hokage then."

* * *

When the team arrived at the Hokage's office to report, it was an awkward situation. Both Naruto and Kakashi felt on edge around their leader.

"Reporting the successful apprehension of the cat known as Tora."

Sarutobi nodded. "Good job Team 7. You all will be paid appropriately."

In the background one could see the client, a portly noblewoman that wore a bit too much makeup, snuggling with the cat as it struggled to escape and breathe. Suddenly Tora's struggles paid off and he broke his owners grip, jumped from her arms, and ran out of the door at record breaking speed. There was a ten second pause as Team 7 stared in shock, eyebrows twitching, before the Hokage chuckled lightly and finally said, "Well, we could charge for another mission." Everyone, including the noblewoman sighed at what they hoped was a joke.

* * *

After being released from team duties, Naruto sort of wandered around, thinking on His dreams. _I've wondered about those strange dreams and instinctively knew they were of the past, but how the heck did I start to have them in the first place? I don't like being in a girl's body after all…_

Someone put a hand on his shoulder, and Naruto, who was caught off guard, spun and slashed at their arm with the second knuckles of his fingers. "Ow! What was that for?"

Naruto stared in shock. "Se-sempai?" Tenten, the only person truly nice to him in the academy, the girl who taught him how to really use thrown weapons, was standing right in front of him. She appeared a little irritated. She drew her arm back and he flinched. When Naruto realized that he wasn't getting hit, he opened his eyes, only for Tenten to flick him right between the eyes. "Gah!"

"Of course it's me Naruto. Who else would bother sneaking up on you in the middle of the afternoon?"

"Right, right. Sorry, Sempai."

"So, how's your team?"

"How do you even know that I-"

Tenten pointed to his forehead.

"Oh, right." He blushed slightly in embarrassment. "It's fine."

"And have you improved with your weapons jutsu?"

"Yeah, I did. That means that you have to fulfill your end of the deal and teach me how to seal weapons."

* * *

The two genin faced each other in one of the myriad of training grounds.

"Sempai, how exactly are you going to test me on this?"

She suddenly drew a kunai and threw it at him. Quickly, Naruto drew his own kunai and knocked down the one flying toward him.

Tenten let out a small smile. "Good. Just keep up with me."

Naruto smirked, a little of his former self leaking through. "Bring it!"

They both began throwing kunai and shuriken at high speed, sparks glittering in the air like gold.

As it continued, Naruto's arms felt like they were burning. Just when he felt that his arms would drop and he'd be stabbed by the weapons, Tenten stopped throwing. "You _have_ improved. Before, you wouldn't have been able to do it, but now, you can keep up."

"So you'll teach me sealing then?"

She nodded and she began giving him a crash course in basic weapon sealing theory.

* * *

Several loud thwacking sounds echoed across the training ground. Hinata was once again practicing her taijutsu without reservation. The log she was using had dents and chakra burns on it from her efforts. She paused and took a look at her palms. They had thick calluses and made her glad that she wasn't an overly girly girl. Most guys as far as she knew liked their partners to have soft hands. Because she focused on her clan, she could care less about some random boy's idealized woman. She could even say that she disdained boys in general. Naruto's calculating eyes as he used his wire jutsu flashed through her mind. _And the strong boys are merely way stones._

* * *

Tenten sighed. "No offense Naruto, but you just aren't all that good at this."

"Just you wait, Sempai. I'll definitely master it."

She patted him on the head. "I have to go, but I'm looking forward to you surprising me." With that, the kunoichi stood, collected her weapons, and left her friend to continue his training. _I already know for sure that you'll master this technique. In the end though, will it help you or just make you try harder to copy me?_ She heard a puff of smoke and Naruto quietly cursing as she walked away. _You still have a ways to go, don't you?_

* * *

It was evening when Naruto and Hinata stopped training and started to go to their homes. They ended up facing each other in the middle of an empty street and Hinata walked straight toward him. When the Hyuuga was in speaking distance, she quietly yet firmly stated. "Please forget about our previous sparring match, Uzumaki-san. I will face you again at a later date, and the results will be different."

Still feeling more like his old self after meeting with Tenten, Naruto gave a quick response. "I'm looking forward to it. Don't make me wait too long. Alright, Hyuuga-san?"

She looked slightly surprised and nodded. With that, the two parted ways.

* * *

As Naruto walked, he remembered his reaction to his sempai. _How could I have moved like that? The academy taijutsu I know isn't even like that._ He remembered his dream, Wa spinning and striking gracefully as she used the Shikanken. _It was more like that type of movement. First I get her bruises, next I start moving like her?_ A mental image of himself in a woman's kimono and moving effeminately flashed through his mind. He shivered at the thought. _The day I start to sway my hips or something is the day I commit seppuku._

* * *

Hinata walked to her home absentmindedly. She was playing out the match with Naruto in her head. _I will make sure to improve and defeat him. The clan's honor – no, I require it for myself. For Father. I refuse to fail._

_

* * *

_

In a ruined temple of Oinari no Okami, a tall man in a cloak walked up to the komagitsune fox statue and put his hand in its maw. Pulling out the paper, he chuckled softly. "Huh. Even in this world, the souls are bound in the same way. Maybe the kid with heterochromia was right. Even so, devouring worlds is necessary. I would feel regret, had I morals left." He looked down at the back of his hand, which had a tattoo of an eight spoked wheel. "Samsara hasn't arrived yet, so there is still time before the finale. I don't want _it_ to get to this world before I devour it."

* * *

The title is going to start to play a bigger role later on. The ending was just a taste of it. Also, I plan on giving "dives into the mind" for each character at least once.

Please review and help me improve. I fear that I am letting the characters get out of character. If that is so, please inform me so that I can fix it in the next chapter.


	7. Itami Nashi Kizuki

Itami Nashi Kizuki

* * *

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

Douglas Adams

* * *

The waterfall in the background of the dark cave was gently roaring as the two faced each other. "So, you're finally here. I didn't expect you for another 4 years." A tall woman with red hair wearing a deep blue kimono spoke without looking at the cloaked man.

"Hmph. You should know why I'm here, Wa-sama"

She turned to him. "I haven't been called that in a long time, my child."

"Isn't this enough for pleasantries? We both know why I came all the way to _this_ world."

Wa gave the cloaked man an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but I can't let you kill me yet."

"Killing you is already impossible, Azure Witch. Or did you give up your Code?"

She cracked a smile at this. "Now, now. Is that any way to talk to your ancestor?"

"Don't try to confuse the issue… Wait. Did you find someone who _can_ take it in this world?"

"Bingo!" Wa exclaimed in false excitement.

He sighed. "Great. Now I'll have to take care of that poor fool before I can devour the world."

"You know, she would never approve of what you're doing."

The cloaked man bristled at this. "Don't you _dare_ bring her into this!"

"Tsk tsk tsk. Such a knee-jerk reaction. Why would she want so many to die for her sake?" She looked at him, chastising his actions.

"Shut up!" Both of his eyes flashed with the geass sigil.

"If you go through with this, she'll hate you until she dies again."

"What do _you_ know?"

"What do _I_ know? I am Uzumaki Wa! Fujimi no Shura (immortal scene of carnage)! The Azure Witch! The Strongest Whirlpool in the Vast Seas! …But… all of that isn't all that important. What matters to me is getting you to stop making this horrible mistake. I know how happy and in love the two of you were. I watch over all of my descendants. She was included after you married."

"If you understand…" He quietly said, with his voice going into a crescendo, "If you understand how I feel, then don't stop me!"

"I am truly sorry for your loss, but I can't let you end this world, or lure Samsara here."

"I'll just have to incapacitate you until I can kill the fool you chose, after that, devouring the world will be my only concern." At this he snapped his arms forward from his cloak, revealing long sleeves that trailed on the ground. An extremely large number of kunai on wires flew at Wa. She sighed and smacked them all down with one hand.

"You _don't_ want to do this."

"My resolve won't be broken!"

BGM: _Son of *****_ by Miyavi:

"You kids are always so melodramatic. **Suiton: Mizu no Yari!** (Water Release: Water Spear)"

Three spears made of water swam into view and began a brutal assault, stabbing slicing and bludgeoning. The cloaked man desperately blocked most of the attacks until he reached into the cloak and drew a pair of tachi, cutting down the spears with Oinari's Fang.

"Remember these?"

Wa chuckled. "Even now, you merely mimic the success of others."

The man growled again. "I'll show you something original then." Replacing the tachi, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a fuuma shuriken. It spun about his fingers and began to glow with heat.

Wa looked on in interest.

He threw the blade. **"Jigoku Mawari **(Hell Rotation)**"**

The shuriken tore the ground under it as it flew and hit Wa in the chest, shearing the top half of her body from the bottom half. Her legs stumbled before collapsing limply next to her top half.

Just when the cloaked man thought that he'd won, both halves of Uzumaki Wa rose up and reattached. She smiled at him pityingly. "You all always act as if that technique is original, but so far they've all been the same."

The man growled again, drew the dual blades he'd held earlier, and crossed the tachi behind his back. He blurred from view with a telltale spark coming from the blades as he uncrossed them.

High Speed Perception:

The waterfall slowed to the point that it seemed to not be moving. As the man rushed at her, Wa hopped backward and grabbed the fuuma shuriken that her opponent embedded in the wall. She then used it to intercept the cloaked man's tachi. He struck at her many times in quick succession. Each time, Wa parried it with the shuriken. The man kept attacking viciously, like a wild animal. Suddenly, as he stabbed at Wa, she spun out of the way and gave him a side kick that sent him flying. As soon as the man was sent flying, she wasted no time and whipped the shuriken at him. **"Jigoku Mawari." **The throwing weapon pinned him to a wall of the cave by the shoulder.

Normal Perception:

"Ngh!" Glowing orbs of light lazily drifted in the air.

Wa looked at him sadly, "This is what happens when you embark on such a foolish path, child."

BGM: Ensei by Yuki Kajiura

He looked at her, seemingly not feeling any pain. "…I've been wondering…Why don't you call me by my name?"

Wa's expression remained sorrowful. "You have shamed the clan Uzumaki. The only redeeming trait is your devotion to your mate."

"So, are you going to say that you never thought to do the same thing for Kairou Rai?"

Wa froze. She took a deep breath and said, "To say that would be a lie. That is why I know exactly what you are going through."

"And you just gave up?"

"Yes."

"How can you be content with that?"

Wa's crimson eyes flashed as she quietly said, "Once you have a true concept of infinity, such a stupid goal as forcing reincarnation for one's lover can be seen for its true danger."

The man slumped but quietly said, "Even if I have to become a demon for her sake…"

* * *

Many weeks had passed since Team 7's first mission. His eye had healed, only leaving an awkward scar on his left eyelid. After their first rematch, Hinata and Naruto developed a sort of rivalry. Naruto's team had become people to whom he'd trust his six, but not anything emotional. He'd begun doing extra training for his chakra reserves (after a long bout with Hinata, he'd realized the need for more stamina and chakra) and weapons techniques (He still stuck to his strengths). His dreams of Uzumaki Wa were full of only training and fasting for her debut on the battlefield. All in all things were good in Naruto's life and he was starting to open up a bit, his depression over Mizuki's death slowly starting to fade.

With Hinata, she'd consistently improved with her juuken. She rarely needed to use her Byakugan, as she'd practiced hitting every point, over and over again. There was one time that she was allowed to spar with a fellow clan member. She'd broken most of his bones and cut off most of his chakra. She still used ruthless efficiency. Her father treated her with a detached sense of caring. She sometimes overheard him talking with the clan elders about a seal and its integrity. He'd only had those talks when he believed that she was out of the compound.

Team 7 was in the Hokage's office, reporting their previous mission. "What do you guys think," Kakashi suddenly asked, "about taking a C-ranked mission?" Team 7 looked at him in varying levels of surprise. The first one to speak up was Sasuke. "Let's do it. I've been looking forward to a challenge. How about you guys?" Sakura, who after having to spend every day with Sasuke, had come out of her crush, said, "Yeah! We can do this." Naruto gave a small smile and agreed.

"Alright," The Hokage said, "we do have a C-Rank mission for you. It is a simple protection mission. The worst that you'll run into is roadside bandits. Send in the client."

A poorly dressed man with a gourd full of sake walked in. "Is this _it_? I expected a team of ninja, not a bunch of kids. The short one looks like he would get tossed around like a leaf in a storm."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and replied. "You will be surprised to learn that this leaf can take on any mission and take down any foe [bad pun on the name of the village]."

Sarutobi chuckled at the boy's response and sent them off to prepare for their departure the next day.

* * *

After his team separated to prepare for the mission, Naruto went to the usual spot in which he sparred with Hinata. It was a small clearing, a little a ways from the normal training grounds. After waiting a few moments, she arrived as well.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-san."

"Hello. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to train with you for the next few weeks."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Naruto looked sort of sheepish. "I've got a long term mission."

She reassured him. "It is not a problem. I will expect you to have improved while away."

"Of course! I wouldn't be worth training with otherwise, would I?"

They both smiled slightly at that remark. They considered each other friends, but never would admit something like that, both being somewhat introverted.

"Anyway," Hinata said, "let's start."

Naruto nodded and they both got into a fighting stance. Hinata sank into the traditional juuken stance and Naruto crouched, reaching for his sparring weapons pouch. It had dulled weapons so that he wouldn't kill anyone by accident. At some intuitive signal, Hinata charged, lashing out with a flurry of palm strikes. Naruto, knowing firsthand how dangerous his sparring partner's attacks were, quickly backstepped, trying to parry what strikes he could and gain distance. As soon as he was out of her range, he threw four kunai at her. As she'd done on many other occasions, Hinata slapped them out of the air as she advanced. Seeing her come near with her palm at the ready, Naruto acted desperately. Just as she was about to hit him, he threw himself backwards, onto the ground. From there, he threw kunai at her stomach from the new position. Knowing that she would be unable to dodge at that point, Hinata also reacted with desperation. **"Kaiten!"**

She spun at high speeds and expelled chakra from all of her tenketsu. In hindsight, she was a little disappointed in herself. She was planning to keep her knowledge of one of her clan's secret techniques just that, secret. The kunai, and Naruto, were sent flying. After Naruto stopped skidding along the ground, he couldn't help but smile. He loved fighting opponents who were _that_ strong. It made his canine teeth tingle as if he had inherited fangs from his clan.

"Ne, Hinata-san. Since you showed me something like that, I'll oblige you with this." He threw a kunai. **"Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** That one kunai suddenly became forty. Hinata used the Kaiten again and prepared to engage her partner in hand to hand combat.

* * *

Hours later, a voice called out, "That's enough. You guys need to go and get some sleep." The pair whirled around to see Yuuhi Kurenai walking up to them.

"Sensei," Hinata asked, "were you watching?"

Kurenai nodded.

Hinata, slightly panting, stood up and left the clearing. Naruto, after his friend left, did the same, limbs shaking in exertion and desperately panting for air. He stumbled a bit and caught himself on a tree. He slid down it, muscles unable to support him for a few moments. He dragged himself to his feet and finally left the clearing to prepare for the mission that he had the following day.

Kurenai thought to herself on the sparring session that she'd just witnessed. _They weren't holding back. Most genin still would do so out of fear of hurting their friends, but these two…_ She looked upon the damage that had accumulated in the clearing. There were palm shaped imprints in the ground and many of the trees. Shattered bits of metal was scattered all over. There was even some dried blood splattered on some of the trees and some bandages, normal and makeshift, tossed about. It looked as if a battlefield had been compressed into the relatively small clearing. Kurenai could still feel residual chakra in the air. She shook her head. _ I need to speak with Hinata about restraint. Sparring isn't supposed to be full on combat._ With that last thought, she walked away, leaving the clearing deserted.

* * *

Hinata left her sparring session feeling frustrated. _I never got to finish. Now we're tied at 15 wins each. _Hinata found that sparring with Naruto gave her a sense of relief. Before, her father had forbidden her to let loose when she sparred with clan members. Since she first sparred with Hanabi to assess their development, since she was 8 years old, Hiashi had told her to hold back against everyone in the clan. Hinata could still remember Hanabi's screams and the guilt of causing that for her beloved younger sister. Sometimes, she had nightmares in which her hands would be coated by her sister's blood. Seeing that the sun was starting to set, she began running for her home. Her father had given her a strict curfew and making her father angry was the last thing Hinata wanted at the moment.

* * *

When she arrived at her home, Hinata made it her priority to take a shower before meeting with her sister and father for dinner. As she went down to the dining area, she passed by her cousin Neji. As usual, he ignored her very existence the moment she greeted him. Normally she was irritable yet controlled. Even recently, she seemed more relaxed, as if her normal stress was being relieved. Today though, Hinata wasn't able to finish her match with Naruto. Before she knew what she was doing, black seal script ran down her arm to her clenched fist. Her nails lengthened into claws.

"Onee-chan, you've been standing there for the last few minutes, are you alright?"

Hinata turned and saw Hanabi staring at her inquisitively.

The text retracted back up her arm.

"Oh, it's nothing, Hanabi-chan." `

* * *

Inside Hinata's mind and body, the Kyuubi grinned. **"Once the container's grip on its emotions is made more tenuous, it will only be a matter of time until it releases me. All I need to do now, is make my servant show me more of his home. Soon I will be able to link their minds and enact my escape. I only need be patient."**

* * *

When Naruto got home, he immediately started packing. After he finished putting weapons and provisions in his bag, he opened his clan's scroll and read more about them.

_The clan Uzumaki though known for its Kill Drive, has more to it than that. If a member of our clan is under enough stress, their fight or flight response will trigger. This response is the true reason for which the Uzumaki are called a demon clan. It is called Oni Awakening. During this process, the clan member's body will take on the appearance and strengths of an oni. Their body will stop its normal conversion of youki to prana for combination with body energy for chakra generation. Instead, the body starts to only utilize the youki. There are inherent dangers in this however. Our clan's bodies are clearly part human by now, so the usage of only youki can lead to organ failure if the transformation is maintained for too long. That being said, one can safely lengthen the transformation by absorbing what are known as souls. They are not what one would normally think of when one uses the word. To the clan's knowledge, it is impossible to truly absorb the spirit of another being. What we mean when we say soul, is the feelings of anguish that one's opponent feels. While other clans get a demon's eyes, we get the rest of the body. _

_The Uzumaki on Kenjutsu:_

_It has been considered a rite of passage for all members of our clan to learn our sword style, Oinari's Fang. What many outsiders do not know, however, is that this school of swordplay includes our taijutsu. We make everything that we do akin to the sword, Oinari-sama's gift to us, a clan that follows her wishes as closely as we can._

_To use this style, it does not matter how one holds their sword(s) or how they stand. To be more precise, this style has only one stance, constant motion…_

While reading, Naruto dozed off.

* * *

Uzumaki Wa was peacefully sleeping in her bed when suddenly…

"Wa-sama, thou needest awaken." Suiko shook her lady.

"Mnng…"

"Wa-sama!" Suiko seemed to be freaking out at this point.

"Yes, yes, this one is up already. Why are you panicking, Suiko?"

"Wa-sama, thy fiancé is coming to visit thee."

Wa sat perfectly still for about three seconds. "Waah! I'm not prepared yet!" She started rifling through her available clothes. "C'mon… I had a kimono prepared for this meeting! Where did I put-"

Suiko rolled her eyes at the future lady. "Wa-sama-"

"I just need to retrace my-"

"Wa-sama!"

"W-what?"

Suiko held up an indigo kimono with a crimson obi. "Thou asked for me to hold onto thy clothing as thou wast concerned that thou wouldst lose track of it prior to today."

Wa visibly relaxed. "Oh! This one thanks you Suiko. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She rushed to put on the kimono and tripped over it.

"A few weeks ago," Suiko remarked, "thou wast loath to marry him. Why then, art thou so excited?"

"This one thought that if she were to put effort into the arrangement, she would have a good relationship with her husband-to-be."

"Ah. Now I understand, my lady. Now, thou must get dressed. Thou mustn't be late." With that Suiko helped Wa into her kimono and they left for the clan's waiting room.

* * *

Upon arriving, Wa noticed a man who seemed to be about 18 years of age. He looked like an insomniac, an opinion that was enforced by his current state of sleep and the bags under his eyes. Wa's parents were ignoring the young man who was lightly snoring. The man was flanked by a man and woman. The trio of outsiders bore the green eyes and black hair that was common to the Kairou clan.

Wa bowed in respect as she entered. "Good morning, Haha-ue, Chichi-ue. Kairou-sama-tachi." She suddenly noticed an older man glowering at her fiancé from the corner of the room.

"What? No greeting for me?" The man seemed to become even more irritated. "I am the one you should be marrying."

"I'm sorry," Wa remarked, "But who are you?"

"How do you not – I'm Kunikida Jirou! I have influence in the entirety of the land of whirlpool. If you were to marry me, the war would be over already!"

At the yelling, Wa's fiancé woke. "*Yawn* Why is everyone yelling?" He rubbed his eyes. "Oh, you're…Gunikita…Jiji?"

The middle aged man growled. "Don't mock me boy! Do it again, and I'll kill you!"

The young man scratched the side of his face. "Please stop making so much noise," his countenance darkened, "I'm _very_ grumpy when I wake up."

The old man trembled in rage. "How dare you treat me like some noisy child!"

Wa's fiancé narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly his father called out to him. "Rai! Don't!"

Rai stood; his posture slouched, with a bit of killing intent leaking out and his hands in the folds of his kimono. "I'll give you one last warning: Keep the noise to a minimum."

Jirou laughed brazenly at this. "Why should I take some brat who gets corrected by his parents seriously?"

Rai's expression turned glacial. "Step outside, and I'll show you."

At this, Rai's mother spoke up. "Now, Rai. This wouldn't be good for the political-"

Rai gave her a simple response. "We're already fighting them anyway."

Jirou reached to the katana around his waist. "I'll teach you some manners, boy."

Rai grinned, baring his fangs, and for reasons unknown to her, Wa blushed. Suiko watched her lady's reaction with something akin to shock, though her face remained impassive.

* * *

Rai and Jirou walked to the courtyard outside the building, everyone else in pursuit. When everyone was present, Jirou drew his blade. "I'll show all of you! I challenge you, Kairou Rai, for your right to Uzumaki Wa's hand in marriage."

Rai cocked his head to the side. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? Do you know the wealth and prestige the Uzumaki have, even as Whirlpool's enemies?"

"I don't really care about that. If that's your only reason, you'll just die. You disturbed my sleep so loudly though, so there is no point in my warning you." At this, Rai's fangs lengthened.

Suiko turned to Wa. "Art thou sure that thou wishest to marry him? He seemeth unstable."

Lady Kairou responded to the remark. "Rai is extremely irritable when others wake him. It is because he sleeps every 5 days. It was his time to sleep and that was interrupted. He'll need to wait 5 days until he gets the chance for a full day's rest."

At this, Suiko thought to herself. _Why, then, did you bring him and plan the meeting for today? And Wa-sama, doesn't this mean that you have bad taste in men?  
_

Jirou charged Rai, slashing at his throat. Rai hopped back, dodging it and kicked his opponent in the face. Jirou stumbled back. Rai drew a wakizashi from his waist. Still slouching, he let out a deep yawn. Jirou growled at what he thought was his opponent underestimating him. He charged again.

Lord Kairou sighed.

Suddenly, Jirou collapsed to the ground, blood exploding from his chest.

Normally, Naruto wouldn't have been able to see what transpired, but being in Wa's body let him see most of the technique. Both he and Wa were shocked. The young man ran past the older one, slashing straight across his chest, cutting through his heart and left lung. It looked shallow, but somehow cut deeply. He did it all at a speed that exceeded Wa's Oinari's Fang. (A/N: Just in case I wasn't clear enough, watch Sephiroth's Oblivion in Dissidia. Rai's a bit faster than that.) The slash made a vacuum in the man's chest, drawing out the blood that was spilled.

Rai quietly spoke, looking behind himself at his downed opponent. "That was my Issetsu Hisshou (One Slash, Sure Victory). Regrettably, I haven't been able to kill instantly with it, so you should be slowly feeling the life fade from your body."

"Beautiful…" Wa mumbled. _This one normally disdains killing but that truly was amazing… _

Suiko looked at her in confusion. "To what art thou referring? He hath slain an important figure of ure (A/N: It's part of the archaic English that I'm using, not a typo) enemy, the combat will begin in earnest now."

Lord Kairou quietly spoke to Lady Uzumaki as Rai cleaned his blade in the background. "Please consider this an expression of our devotion to this alliance."

Lady Uzumaki nodded. "Once, Wa fulfills the rite of passage, the two will be wed."

"Mother," Wa asked, "would you really have married me to that aggressive man?"

"Yes, until the Kairou clan agreed to support us."

Rai slowly walked up to Wa. Right before he was in speaking range, he straightened his posture. "We haven't exchanged words yet. I am Kairou Rai, your fiancé. I hope that we will get along."

"I-I wish for that as well."

* * *

Naruto snapped out of sleep with a gasp. _This time the dream was different. It was only after I read more of the scroll. Is that the reason?_ Naruto sat up and dressed himself. After he had his breakfast, the last Uzumaki left for his mission.

* * *

Meeting up at the gate, Team 7 prepared to leave, Tazuna in tow. The three rookie ninja were shocked to see that their teacher was actually on time for once. Before they could leave, however, Hyuuga Hinata walked up to Naruto.

She looked at him seriously. "Don't die." With that, she put a cloth bundle in his arms and left.

Everyone shared a confused look. Wanting to return to his village, Tazuna quietly cleared his throat. With that, everyone regained their focus and once again prepared to leave. Before they could do so, a flash of orange shot past them, followed by three genin level ninja. Sasuke called out, "Tora again?"

Three familiar sounding voices responded. "Yeah!"

Everyone was still standing at the gate when they heard a voice call out, "C'mon! Let's get going!"

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tazuna turned to see Kakashi halfway down the road, and still walking.

* * *

As the group of travelers walked down the worn path to the land of Wave, Naruto suddenly froze. "She _didn't_!"

The others looked at him with confusion.

"It-it's nothing."

Sakura and Kakashi shrugged and Tazuna wasn't really interested in the first place. Sasuke on the other hand, looked slightly concerned.

Naruto was lost in thought. _There's no way she gave me a present. I remember telling her that my birthday was October 10__th__, but…_ He inspected the bundle more closely and saw a small folded note.

_To Uzumaki Naruto:_

_I wish you an enjoyable birthday and a successful mission. It is considered by some people to be proper to impart words of wisdom that one has heard, for such an occasion. I shall do so as well: "There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking_._" I hope that you tell me your interpretation of these words by our next meeting. Please remember our previous agreement upon your return._

_Best wishes,_

_Hyuuga Hinata_

Naruto was still sort of shocked by this point. _In hindsight, I should have expected it. She's always been so polite and professional after all. "When you are resolved from the beginning…" I'll need to think on it._

* * *

As Hinata walked away, she noticed Kurenai waiting for her. "I'm surprised that you got that worried about him."

"…" Hinata avoided her gaze.

"And you gave him such an expensive gift as well."

"…I do not wish for him to be killed, both as a sparring partner, and as a fellow Konoha shinobi."

"Isn't that a little naïve, Hinata-kun? After all, tying a blade to a kitten doesn't really make it much more dangerous."

"Kurenai-sensei. I've fought Uzumaki-san many times and can tell you this: He has taken to heart one of the most important tenets of the shinobi arts: all things can be used as a weapon. Give a kendoka a club, and they can wield it as a sword. Uzumaki-san would only need to be able to make use of it for it to be helpful to him."

* * *

As the group continued toward Wave, they passed a puddle and a few trees. Naruto stiffened and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Someone's here!" After practicing intonjutsu (escape and concealment arts) so much, Naruto had a gut instinct for things like this.

While Tazuna looked at him in surprise and doubt, Kakashi looked on in pride and Sasuke asked, "You sure?" At Naruto's verification, the group of ninja began scanning their surroundings before Sakura called out, "That puddle shouldn't be there. It hasn't rained for days."

At that, two ninja flew from the puddle toward Tazuna. They were carrying a chain between them, attached to metal gauntlets. Sasuke rushed to one, engaging in hand to hand combat, while Naruto reflexively threw kunai at the other. Sakura took a defensive position in front of Tazuna, having seen her teammates begin to act. Sasuke managed (albeit barely) to pin one to the ground, gauntlet behind his back. This pulled the other, who was blocking the kunai, off balance, allowing Naruto to send kunai into the man's elbow and knee joints, immobilizing him. Kakashi stepped on the ninja that Sasuke took down and hog tied him. He ninja tied the other, cross-tying his thumbs and toes together.

"Nicely done, all of you. I'm proud. Now then, Tazuna-san? Why would there be chuunin level ninja attacking on a simple C-rank body guarding mission? They went straight for you, so there was no way that this could be an issue between hidden villages."

Tazuna ignored the jounin's gaze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kakashi frowned at him. "Tell me, or the mission will be called off, and you can run a gauntlet of enemy ninja on your own."

Fear showing on his features, Tazuna quickly answered the question. "Well, you see, the land of Wave has been taken over by a man named Gatou…"

* * *

"So you mean to say," Kakashi asked, "that _the_ Gatou is your enemy because of the bridge that would revitalize your economy?"

"T-that's the gist of it."

"We won't do this mission."

Tazuna was quick to respond. "Well, that's fine. My grandson will be crying, asking, 'Where's Grandpa?' and my daughter will hold an eternal grudge against Konoha's ninja…"

Kakashi sighed. "Fine. What do you guys think?"

Sasuke spoke up first. "We can do this. After all, those so-called chuunin were nothing."

Naruto also spoke up. "It won't be a problem. We function as a unit, so there's nothing we can't do."

Sakura simply nodded, afraid but slowly gaining confidence in her teammates' words.

Kakashi sighed again. "I don't know if this is for the best, but you guys are ninja now, so danger is to be expected. You are a very lucky man Tazuna."

The bridge builder looked gratefully at the three young teens.

* * *

The group continued on their way to Wave. Suddenly Kakashi shouted out, "Duck!"

Right after the group did so, a giant blade whizzed through the air and was embedded in a tree. Standing on the handle was a tall man with bandages around his face…

* * *

Dive Into the Mind:

Suiko:

Lady Wa has always been the most important person to me for as long as I've known her. After Mother died, Father was given a marriage proposal by the Uzumaki clan. He accepted, and the next thing I knew, I was Uzumaki Suiko. Lady Uzumaki and I never saw eye to eye, but we were cordial to one another. Eventually, Wa-sama, my half-sister, was born. From the first time that I saw her, I knew that I loved her, my sweet baby sister. In those times, I'd never allowed anyone but myself and my parents to care for her. If one were to cause her even a scratch, back then I'd have torn them to shreds, no matter how young I was. As I got older my feelings only grew stronger, but so did my control. No matter what happens, I will protect my little sister from any danger, even if she doesn't know what I am to her.

* * *

Please review, I would like to be notified of any possible improvements or plotholes.

Remember, if it lacks a climax and lacks a meaning, it's 2/3 yaoi! (_Please_ tell me that _someone_ out there gets my meaning..."


	8. Oni, Ningen, Dochira wa Watashi?

Oni, Ningen, Dochira wa Watashi?

* * *

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?"

Friedrich Nietzsche

* * *

The third Hokage looked at available missions as Team 8 looked on. _It's best that I test the seal's resilience. It wouldn't do for it to break at an inopportune time._ "Kurenai-kun, I recommend your team for this mission." Hiruzen passed the scroll to his subordinate.

Kiba piped up. "Is it a kickass one?"

Sarutobi rolled his eyes at the boy's energy as Kurenai read the scroll. "H-hokage-sama, I'm not sure that my Team is-"

"_I_ am sure." The old man interrupted.

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama." Kurenai looked abashed. _But there's no way to tell how much death and destruction will result…_

With that, Team 8 left for the mission.

* * *

"Ne, Kurenai-sensei, what _is_ our mission anyway?"

The woman sighed. "We have to protect a village that is being chronically attacked by bandits."

"Cool!"

At this, all of the genin got excited at the prospect of actual combat.

* * *

Odd thing is, Team 8 smelled and heard the village before they could see it.

The smell, flame and ash. The thick scents of blood and fear hung about the small village like a miasma. They could hear children and adults screaming. Along with that, the group of ninja could hear the clashing of weapons and the splattering of blood. As the group approached the village, the sky grew increasingly dark and there was a soft orange glow. Once they were at the entrance, the roaring and crackling of what seemed to be a village wide blaze became apparent. The genin froze with horror, Hinata especially. She had a flashback to her nightmare. _So many screams and fires and…and…_ The girl began to tremble.

Kurenai placed a hand on her student's shoulder and was disconcerted by the subsequent flinch. "Hinata, are you alright?"

The girl nodded shakily. "L-let's get started, Sensei."

Kurenai nodded. Kiba cheered and the team rushed into the village before using intonjutsu. They carefully snuck toward the action. They saw a large group of men acting wildly. They were setting fire to the buildings and indiscriminately cutting down the villagers. They seemed to take orders from a man that sat quite literally on a high-horse.

"Okay," Kurenai spoke to her students, "We'll be going in on three. One…two…three!"

The four Konoha shinobi rushed into motion.

* * *

"Tch! I missed." The man on the blade looked down. "Huh. You seem to be Sharingan Kakashi. Sorry, but…that old man is mine."

Kakashi's students had varying reactions to the man's statement. Sakura merely looked confused. Naruto thought, _He has demon eyes?_ Sasuke stared at his teacher with very apparent shock. _Sharingan? How the hell does he…_

Kakashi forced his body to relax and stay loose. "Well, you're Kiri's nukenin, Momochi Zabuza-san. Meeting you here was unexpected." He turned to his students. "Stand back and guard Tazuna-san. You can't handle an enemy of his caliber yet."

Kakashi grasped his hitai-ate and slowly pulled it up to reveal the aforementioned doujutsu. His left eye was a dull red and had three tomoe.

Zabuza seemed pretty much unaffected by this. "Already pulling out your ace in the hole? I'm honored." He put his hands together in a seal. **"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."**

A thick mist filled the area, obstructing everyone's vision. The three genin jumped to position around Tazuna. They felt a steadily climbing amount of ki that was filled with lethal intent. The three rookies started to pant, feeling as if there was a pressure on each of their chests.

"Ah, nine targets," Zabuza's voice echoed from the mist, "Spine, clavical vein, liver, lungs, brain, neck veins, kidney, and heart."

Naruto started to hyperventilate. _I-I'm going to die… I-I can't…I won't…_ Driven by fear, Naruto drew on the warmth in his eye and called forth the power that he knew very little about. His eye once again had the crane shaped sigil enveloping its pupil. The boy looked into the mist desperately, searching for a sign of the deadly nukenin. All he heard we're strange mutterings, some clearly recognizable, but one almost stopping him cold, as it became stronger in his head.

"**Thanks for stopping by…"**

* * *

Team 8 charged at the bandits in the village. They went for the one giving orders, the apparent leader. Every member of the team made a point to avoid all other bandits and incapacitate everyone in their way. Kiba got there first and drew a kunai, going for the man on the horse. The man backhanded the boy absentmindedly and whistled, drawing the attention of his fellow bandits. The rest of the criminals attacked the shinobi. Kurenai, Kiba, and Hinata growled in frustration. Shino on the other hand, calmly raised his arms, which let out a droning buzz. Taking Shino's lead, the other two genin prepared for combat. Hinata got into a juuken stance and Kiba activated his shikyaku no jutsu.

* * *

**I knew that you'd rely on me again. You're so predictable.**

Quickly, Naruto tried to turn off his eye, but it didn't change in the slightest. _C'mon, just ignore it and find the enemy…_ Naruto focused to the point that he only had his cursed eye open. _C'mon!_

**That's not the right way to use Geass, servant. Focus on the intention behind the use of that eye.**

_What the hell's Geass?_

**The name of the curse on your eye of course.**

_Why are you helping me?_

**You dying isn't part of my plans just yet.**

Realizing that he was entering a dangerous zone by talking to the chakra being, Naruto broke communication and focused. _Read his thoughts, read his thoughts, read his thoughts…_ Instead of hearing the thoughts of the dangerous ninja, Naruto felt bloodlust rising all around him. _Crap! It's useless-_ He wheeled around and stabbed at the center of Team 7's defensive formation. Just as he did so, Zabuza jumped in the middle of the formation only to get a kunai to the heart.

To the apparent surprise of everyone, water trickled from the wound and 'Zabuza' collapsed into water.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. _Mizu bunshin?_ He suddenly felt a blade pressed against his throat.

"Looks like those kids aren't as useless as they look, Kakashi. You, on the other hand…" With that, Kakashi felt the blade tug slightly on his skin as it pushed through his throat. He let out a gurgling sound before exploding into water.

Zabuza's eyes widened. _He copied my jutsu, even in the mist?_

Kakashi appeared behind him and stabbed him through the spine only for that Zabuza to splash at his feet. A third Zabuza appeared behind him and kicked him. Caught off guard, Kakashi skidded across the ground and fell into a nearby lake. Bursting to the surface, the jounin noticed that the water felt confining, heavy.

"**Suirou no jutsu!"** That was when Zabuza made a prison of water and trapped Team 7's master.

* * *

Hinata found herself losing focus on her teammates as she struck and dodged the bandits. _Okay, throat. Now…solar plexus. Next, floating ribs followed by center of the keirakukei. Parry, and heart._ Needless to say, she was holding her own.

Shino intermingled strikes and swarms of kikai as he quite literally tore apart his enemies. He would strike them enough to stun them and then let his kikai drain them. Otherwise, helet his kikai feed on his foes' flesh as he struck them.

Several bandits found themselves getting cut in lethal spots only to bleed out due to Kiba's sharp claws. He easily kept his opponents at bay, since running on four limbs is faster than using two.

* * *

Uzumaki Wa sat in her cave with the cloaked man. "So, why'd you go to the Nexus? By which method?"

He kept silent.

"Fine. I'll just torture you then." Wa cracked her knuckles and flicked out her index finger like a blade. "Hehehe…"

* * *

"Take Tazuna and get out of here!" Kakashi was trapped in a large sphere of water.

"No way, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura looked determined.

"We're a team, we won't leave you behind." Sasuke added.

Finally, Naruto said, "Don't we need to use teamwork? Weren't those your words, Sensei?"

Sakura immediately started talking with her fellow genin. "Our only chance of beating him is with Kakashi-sensei's help, so freeing him should be our priority."

The three huddled together and whispered amongst themselves.

They stood and Naruto ran through a list of seals. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** Several clones rushed at Zabuza's clone, kunai drawn. The nukenin merely swung his sword and tore them all apart.

"Hmph. Was that it?"

Sasuke then leapt into the air. He spun and used the rotation to throw a Fuuma shuriken. This time, he targeted the real Zabuza. He caught it only to see a second in the first's shadow.

"Tch!"

Zabuza jumped over it, only to see it come back at him through his peripheral vision. He leapt out of the way, releasing his water prison. Upon closer examination, Zabuza saw ninja wire attached to both blades. The blond ninja had them attached to his fingers. Zabuza grabbed the weapons and viciously pulled on them.

"W-wha!" Naruto was jerked along the ground and toward the murderous ex-kiri nin. Before Zabuza could follow up, Kakashi caught Naruto as he moved and bounded back to land.

"For that, you'll die here." He ran back onto the water and drew a kunai.

Zabuza scoffed. "Screw-"

"-that! Is that what you meant to say?"

"What do-"

"-I think I'm doing? I'm simply seeing your future. You'll die, you know."

Zabuza made a hand seal that Kakashi also made in the exact same moment. Zabuza then ran through a long list of seals, saying. "So you think you can-"

"-copy me like some stupid little monkey?"

Zabuza froze, seeing an illusion of himself behind his opponent.

Kakashi finished the seals before Zabuza. **"Suiton: Suiryuudan!"** A large amount of water rose like a bubble and shifted into the shape of a dragon. It shot at Zabuza before making two sharp turns and slamming into his side. Both the ninja and the torrent of water slammed into a tree and Kakashi pinned him there with kunai.

"And now, you die."

* * *

Hinata vaulted off of a bandit's back and charged their leader. The man easily parried her strikes and knocked her away. As the kunoichi stumbled back she felt a sharp pain through her chest. She turned around, coughing up blood. A man had climbed to a roof and shot her with a bolt from his crossbow. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. She saw him notch another bolt and fire, piercing her abdomen. Hinata's vision went hazy before she saw only black. Suddenly white script appeared in her vision.

**(youkikeinochakura);**

The air suddenly filled with blood lust. Hinata's body swayed awkwardly as mad laughter shot from her mouth. Crimson chakra began to leak from her body and had the appearance of burning flames. Her body suddenly slumped and her hair fell into her eyes, masking them but still showing their dull red glow.

The man on the roof of one of the village houses aimed carefully. _Why won't she just die already?_ Suddenly, the same girl that he'd shot was standing right in front of him. She then disappeared again. The man collapsed and lookedaround himself. He felt really cold. He died screaming in shock as he saw his guts splattered across the roof.

Hearing the screams echo across the town, Kurenai felt a shiver go up her spine. Her reaction was due to experiencing the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha and the fact that her student was the one who was acting like a monster. She averted her gaze as the walls of the buildings began to get a first coating of life blood.

* * *

Both Wa and the man in her cave froze at the sudden spike of demonic energy. Wa frowned. "Tch! It wasn't supposed to happen this soon…"

The man sighed. "The cycle of cause and effect has begun again. If you're not careful, I'll exist here too."

"That's why you're going to help me while I keep lookout."

"Oh? Why should I?"

"I'd say something about loyalty, but instead I'll simply tell you this: I'll torture you like before if you don't."

The man shivered before grudgingly nodding.

* * *

Dive into the mind:

Naruto:

Ever since I could first remember, everyone in the village has treated me differently. When I walked into stores, the owners would always watch me carefully. It was like everyone assumed the worst of me. When I asked the adults why they were treating me like that, they told me that it was due to my family. What family? I barely have an understanding of the word, besides its context when used by others. It used to make me feel lonely, but I've numbed to that. I always wondered if they were as bad as everyone implied, but now I realize that I should look for the answers myself. As soon as I can, that's what I'm going to do. That's my deepest wish. I feel like I _need_ to know even though no one else in the village will help me or would care in the first place. I will seize my dream's culmination with my own hands.

* * *

Things are slowly escalating. I'm starting to worry if I've planned too many things to fit into the story. Maa, what's the worst that could happen? Oh yeah, Naruto's gift will be revealed next chapter. It is most likely underwhelming, so sorry for that. Please review.


	9. Oni ga Kuru

Sekai Ga Furu ch9

* * *

Hinata sprinted at her opponent and fell like lightning from a stormy sky. The man rolled off of his horse. It let out about half of a neigh before was ground into a long crimson streak. Hinata stood with the horse's head in her hand before dropping it. She then rushed to kill the man that she missed the first time.

Team 8 was completely caught by surprise when the bandit's leader dodged all of Hinata's attacks. Looking closely, Kurenai made a realization. _He's moving out of the way before she attacks!_ There was a loud cracking sound and the only thing that the Konoha ninja saw was Hinata doubled over in pain. She dropped to her knees, her arm twisted unnaturally.

"K-kuso…!"

The man kicked the kunoichi in the face and she went flying. Kiba rushed to her aid as Kurenai took on the strange silent man. Kurenai put her hands together to make a genjutsu, but just as she did so, the man rushed her, kicking accurately. Kurenai brought up her arms to block it and slid back a few feet. _Ts-tsuyoi!_ The man pursued her, aiming another kick at her face. Before he could do so, he interrupted the motion and rolled out of the way of a blood soaked Hinata. Her arm was twisted back in place.

"**Grrrrrr…"** She struck at him with fury only for him to slip past her limbs and throw her. Hinata caught herself and suddenly clutched her eye. Hinata whipped her hand away and her previously red eye was sparking with eldritch energy, as if lightning was flowing from it. She charged at the silent man and even as he tried to dodge her palm strike, she twisted into the air and struck him in the throat with a hook kick. With a gasp, the man dropped to one knee.

"You're a KamiModoki?"

Hinata stared at him in shock both for his having spoken and for his statement. "What's a 'false god'?"

"What a fool. Using their power and not knowing what it is…"

* * *

A pair of senbon slid into Zabuza's neck, and he fell limply like a marionette with cut strings.

"You were right, he _did_ die." A person in a mask appeared in a tree. Naruto drew a kunai, facing the masked person.

Kakashi raised a hand in a halting gesture, not taking his eyes off of the newcomer. "Naruto, stand down. This guy's a oinin(hunter ninja) from Kirigakure. He's only here for Zabuza's body."

"Thanks for the help!" The person cheerily grabbed Zabuza's body and shunshin'ed away.

"Well, we just need to get Tazuna…home…" Kakashi teetered on his heels and dropped onto his side, unmoving.

The genin rushed to him. "Sensei!"

"Ugh. I overused my Sharingan…"

* * *

"Kami Modoki are those who have the Code written on their souls."

Hinata looked at the man, her head cocked to the side. "The Code?"

He shook his head in a combination of astonishment and exasperation. "You have the power and truly don't know. Heh, I'll retreat for now, but believe me, I will come back and steal your Code."

Hinata clutched her head in pain and a voice came unbidden from her mouth, it was a deep savage sound. **"Come as you will, boy. I'll tear you to shreds and cast you to the unforgiving wind."**

The man rushed away, the remnants of his forces following.

Kiba walked up to his teammate. "Ne, Hinata-san, what was all of that? It was like you were teleporting."

The crimson chakra finally faded and Hinata looked around as if she'd suddenly awoken. "H-huh? What do you mean, Inuzuka-san?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

"…"

* * *

Team 7 had taken Kakashi to Tazuna's home so that he could recuperate and while they waited, they trained and passed the time. Sakura practiced a few techniques of basic genjutsu and Naruto and Sasuke practiced throwing kunai at one another and catching them out of midair.

Suddenly, Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, rushed out of her home to the ninja. "Your sensei is awake!"

The three genin picked up their things and went into the house to Kakashi's guest room. He was siting up on his futon, an exasperated expression on his face. "That boy, the oinin was a fake."

"H-huh?" The other ninja looked at him in bare shock.

"If he was really a hunter nin, he would have started to take apart the body as soon as he killed it. On top of that, he used senbon, acupuncture needle, an unreliable weapon to do it. This means that Zabuza is most likely alive."

Sasuke summed up everyone's thoughts in one word. "Crap."

* * *

Kakashi circled his students using crutches. "We'll need to prepare for Zabuza's return. You need to increase your endurance and basic physical ability."

Sakura was the one who spoke up. "How do we do that Sensei?"

Kakashi did an eye smile. "We're going to climb trees."

Naruto bore a confused expression. "We already know how to do that."

"Then allow me to clarify. We will do it without using our hands." With that, Kakashi, crutches and all, walked up to a tree, and proceeded to walk straight up it. The entire group of genin stood there, their jaws slack.

Sasuke was the first to speak. "I had no idea that you could use chakra like that."

Kakashi smiled. "Well, you're quick to catch on. You need to attach your feet to the tree with chakra to climb it. Doing this exercise will increase your chakra control and stamina." From the tree side, he threw three kunai, one before each rookie. "Mark your progress so you have something to look forward to as you go."

* * *

Naruto closed his eyes in focus as he made a hand seal, collecting chakra to his feet. He then ran at the tree at full speed. Upon reaching the tree, he seamlessly transitioned between horizontal and vertical movement. After about ten steps, Naruto started to slip. Before he fell, Naruto lashed out at the bark with his kunai. He twisted in the air and landed on his feet. Looking up, Naruto could see that all of the past marks were within inches of the same mark he'd just made. He was definitely running out of steam.

Sakura had already finished and left with Tazuna for his protection and Kakashi was leaning against a tree watching him and Sasuke, who was at least three quarters of the way up his tree. Naruto on the other hand, was about a quarter of the way up. _I'm not making any progress huh? What do I know so far? Too little chakra and I slip off, too much and I break the bark, I need to be in between those._

Once again, Naruto brought his hands together in a seal. This time though, instead of drawing his chakra right to his feet, he slowly brought it down and then held it there, focusing on keeping the amount on his feet constant. He opened his eyes but kept focused. Naruto then ran at the tree, still focusing on keeping his chakra steady. He ran up the tree, using as much speed as he could. Suddenly, he felt his foot slide against the tree's smooth bark. With a grimace, Naruto added more chakra and kept running. _Just a bit further…_ The exhaustion that had gradually increased finally passed Naruto's threshold. He slashed at his new spot on the tree, which was about a foot higher, and began to fall, unable to pull on enough chakra to save himself from a painful meeting with the ground.

* * *

Team 8 had finished its mission and was returning to Konohagakure no Sato.

Hinata looked at her arms before freezing. They were coated in blood and bits of bone and guts. It was still _warm_. She shivered as she remembered just what it was that she did to end up with such a coating. Some of the looks of pain and fear reminded her a bit too much of her dear sister. _That sparring match…_

"Are you alright?" Her quieter teammate asked.

"I…am fine, Aburame-san, thank you for asking."

Kurenai saw how troubled her student was and felt a combination of aggravation with her hokage and shame over having to make her student go through with the mission.

000

Naruto dropped his kunai and desperately reached out to one of the tree's limbs. He slid off and reached for a second one as he fell toward it. This time, he clung to it desperately. The boy clambered up onto the branch and lay down, letting his weight rest on it. He took slow, deep breaths, trying to regain his energy as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes, Naruto got up off the limb and leapt to the tree's side. The amount of chakra that he had left was enough for him to slide against the bark, though he'd been trying to continue his way up. He slid all the way back to the ground before stumbling and hitting the earth hard, the breath being knocked from his lungs. The boy tried gathering his chakra again, only to feel a cold sensation start to spread up his arms. He quickly stopped trying and sat down to rest again. _Hah, that's…my limit._

About five minutes after this, Sasuke collapsed on a high branch in the tree, panting. This cycle of work and rest continue through to the night. Each time, the two lay panting, waiting for their chakra to return. Every time they rested, they were both higher up, and taking longer to return to full capacity. Though they didn't realize it at the time, both shinobi were gaining more chakra and more control over it.

After a few hours, it was night and the two were clinging to the tops of their trees, letting the wind sway them to and fro.

Breaking the sound of the gentle winds, Naruto spoke up. "Uchiha-san."

"What?"

"Since we're done with this exercise, let's train by doing something else."

The dark haired boy nodded.

* * *

Team 8 camped in the forest for the night and kept a rotating watch. During his watch, Shino looked up at the crescent moon above, the white light reflecting off of his sunglasses. _It's cold. I wonder if it will be snowing somewhere nearby._

000

Naruto and Sasuke finished training together by evening and had dinner with the rest of their team and Tazuna's family. The atmosphere was tense up until the end, when Inari, Tazuna's grandson brought up what had been bothering him about his grandfather's body guards. "Why are you even trying? You're all going to die anyway!"

Naruto responded in between bites. "We won't die."

"No matter how strong you are, Gatou will just hire more people!"

Naruto kept eating. "As long as it's a person, it can be killed."

At this statement, Sasuke and Kakashi shook their heads and Sakura admonished him for speaking of manslaughter so openly as Inari ran to his room. "Naruto-kun, you need to keep quiet sometimes."

He shrugged and went to the guest room.

Everyone else sighed and the other genin went to the guest room as well.

Kakashi turned to his employer and apologized. "Sorry about that, Naruto never had much social interaction, so he doesn't really know how to deal with people."

* * *

After everyone else went to sleep, Naruto got out of his futon and pulled out the gift that he received from Hinata. He slowly drew it from its sheath, enjoying the metallic sound. It was a double-edged short sword. Its general shape was that of a kunai, even including the ring on the handle. It was longer and from its handle length could be assumed to be a one handed blade.

He held it in an orthodox grip but felt clumsy. Following that, he held it in a reverse grip and it felt familiar. It felt as though his senses sharpened and he gained clarity of mind. He brought the blade up before his eyes and murmured quietly into the darkness. "Hinata-san…"

* * *

As Naruto slept that night, he dreamt of his death. He was cut up in many different ways by Zabuza's Kubikiri-Houcho as the nukenin grinned. He shivered as he tossed and turned. He felt his body get colder and colder as the blood leaked from his body. He then quaked with wrath and reached toward the killer. _How dare you try to harm this one! She will cut you to shreds! Just wai- What am I saying? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, not Uzumaki Wa. I'm not one of _them _I just…I just use their techniques, they owe me. They left me alone and I, I had to deal with all of the villagers hating me. She and I are so different. No matter what I dream, there is nothing that makes me like her._

* * *

Team 7 got up early a week later, making plans for the coming day. "Alright, Naruto will stay here to guard Tazuna's family until they are safe and the rest of us will guard Tazuna. Baruto. Once they're safe, join us on the bridge."

The genin nodded and made preparations. When Tazuna and his family awoke and were ready to leave, the ninja took their posts. Naruto quietly shadowed Tsunami and Inari in their home.

* * *

The rest of Team 7 went to the bridge with their client. Upon arriving, they saw that the site was covered with the bodies of people either passed out or dead. A mist slowly rolled in, and the ninja took a defensive position around Tazuna. Zabuza calmly walked up to his opponents. "We're taking the bridge builder."

Kakashi threw a kunai at him and the nuke-nin exploded into water. The two jounin then began fighting in earnest. The clanging of metal and sound of tearing cloth was barely audible over the moaning and groaning of the injured.

"Hello, Konoha shinobi."

Sasuke whirled toward the voice only to see the masked person from before. "Sakura, keep watch on Tazuna!" He rushed off to fight the mysterious youth.

* * *

A pair of ronin carelessly and noisily made their way to Tazuna's house, hoping for hostages. After all, when your employer wants something, you get it. What they weren't counting on, was the presence of Naruto as they made their attempt.

Even as they broke the door open, three kunai flew through the opening; the first of the ronin was pierced in the throat and solar plexus. The second jumped from the door as more kunai flew out. "D-dammit!" As he began to draw his sword, Naruto leapt from behind the door and stabbed him in the throat as well. He then elbowed him and pulled his katana, sheath and all, from him. Naruto then ran back into the house. "Tsunami-san. We need to move from here. Gatou knows where we are."

"W-what?"

"Let's get going."

Tsunami called for Inari and the three of them left, rushing to a neighbor's house.

When they finally arrived, Naruto felt that the two were safe; he left for the bridge, newly acquired katana in hand.

* * *

Sasuke faced the hunter-nin. He threw a kunai, only for it to be knocked down by senbon. Sasuke then launched a flurry of punches, which his opponent blocked. He feinted a kick before stabbing at the hunter with a kunai he'd secretly drawn. The hunter caught the blade on his senbon. The two pushed with their weapons, trying to knock their opponent off balance. Suddenly the hunter spoke. "You're fairly fast. Too bad that you let yourself fall into a disadvantageous situation." He ran through a series of one handed seals. **"Hijustu: Sensatsu Suisho"**. The water on the bridge rose up and shaped itself into an array of needles that circled overhead. Just as Sasuke disengaged, the needles crashed down.

"Crap!"

* * *

As Naruto ran through the trees, he failed to notice that he was being followed.

A cloaked man was silently leaping behind him. _I can't believe that Wa-sama wants me to do this. I would kill him right now, but she made sure that my hands were tied._

As the pair approached the bridge, the man felt a tingle in his skin. _Huh. There's a barrier. Why would someone set up an anti-demon barrier here?_

He split his focus and found what was guarded by the seal. _Son of a b-_

* * *

Sasuke panted but threw shuriken at his opponent anyway. The hunter deflected them with the senbon in his hand. "That was an impressive display of strength, using a steel beam as a replacement. However, now you won't have enough time to recover." He threw the senbon only for them to be knocked from the air by a pair of kunai. A fuuma shuriken flew through the air at him and the hunter dodged, only to see a large group of kunai scissoring through the air through a small wave of shuriken. He threw senbon at the blades, hoping to knock them down, only for them to bounce off, the weapons wobbling slightly.

Sasuke took this opportunity to fall back and recover.

The blades stabbed into the hunter, only for him to burst into water. The hunter appeared over the weapons and took a swipe at them with senbon. The blades all fell to the ground as a snapping sound was heard. The hunter whipped more senbon behind a crate and Naruto darted out, his fingers bleeding. He drew the katana and held it point first at his aggressor.

* * *

The cloaked man watched the battle closely, his long sleeves swaying with the winds from his perch on a nearby tower. _Wa-sama, they have a barrier up. It seals youki in it, so you may not be able to sense what's in here. Things could get hairy._

* * *

Naruto slid onto his butt as his katana was knocked from his hands. Sasuke covered for him with a Katon: Endan. Naruto lunged across the ground and grabbed the wires from his earlier attack. He cracked them at the hunter like a whip. Not expecting the attack, he blocked with his forearm. Both Naruto and Sasuke froze as they realized that they'd actually wounded him.

The hunter brought his hands together in a custom seal. "I can't risk defeat, so…**Hyouton: Makyou Hyoushou!**"

Panels of reflective ice rose from the water on the bridge. They surrounded the genin. The hunter melted into one of them as Naruto whipped his wire at him. The hunter's image was reflected on all of the mirrors. Before the pair could do anything, senbon were flying from all directions.

The pierced boys fell to the ground. "Naruto," Sasuke murmered, "Cover for me. I'll melt the mirrors." The other boy nodded.

They both stood and Naruto began throwing shuriken at the mirrors. They bounced off, making small cracks that quickly repaired themselves before clattering to the ground just as Sasuke finished his handseals. "**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!**"

The giant ball of flame didn't even fog the mirrors. The flames died down and the genin tried to dodge the wave of senbon from their opponent. Sasuke felt his eyes sting as the needles seemed to slow down. Naruto was sent to the ground.

As he got up, Naruto spoke to his teammate. "Uchiha-san, if I can break a mirror or two, can you burn him from outside?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, on my mark." The last Uzumakiran through a few seals and drew a pair of kunai. "Now! **Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" He threw the blades and they multiplied enough to crack and then shatter two of the mirrors. What happened is that Naruto threw kunai in the shadows of others, and they all hit the same general areas of his selected mirrors, creating enough damage to break them. The second that Sasuke heard the signal, he rushed through the gap in the jutsu and escaped it.

He leapt up and cast his Goukakyuu again as Naruto threw kunai with explosive tags from the inside. All of the mirrors shattered, and their enemy stumbled from the blast radius. His clothes were burned and the mask was blown off. Sasuke took his chance to pin down his opponent and tie the disoriented person up in the ninja wire from Naruto's attack. He noticed something strange about the person he was fighting. Their face was awfully smooth and delicate. Their body was also slightly womanly under their baggy clothes. Sasuke wasn't sure, but he could swear that this person was a girl. She struggled against the wires, but Sasuke tightened them, preventing her escape.

Naruto lay on his side, panting and trying to recover from the use of the jutsu and shock from the explosion. His head was swimming a little and ice shards were embedded in his body.

* * *

At the loud explosion, both Kakashi and Zabuza paused.

Kakashi became very worried for his students. "Okay then, Zabuza. We're both busy men, we have a lot on our plates, what do you say we end this quickly?"

Zabuza thickened the mist. "Sure thing."

* * *

The cloaked man grinned at the boys' resourcefulness. _He's progressing faster than I expected._

He expanded his senses and felt the coming monstrosity. _Tch! They need to hurry._

* * *

Kakashi drew a scroll from his flak jacket and whipped his blood on it before casting a summoning jutsu. "**Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no justu.**"

Zabuza was caught by surprise as dogs lunged up at him from under the bridge, breaking through the tiles. They latched onto him and pinned him down. Due to his loss of focus, Zabuza's mist cleared up and a solitary applause echoed on the bridge.

* * *

"Well done. You're all so tired, that I can get rid of you all now." Every ninja and Tazuna stared in shock as Gatou stepped onto the bridge, flanked by a large group of hired muscle and a large cage.

Zabuza chuckled. "You pulled off that betrayal faster than I could do mine. Too bad. I'll still kill you though."

Gatou grinned and tapped the metal bars of the cage behind him. It was littered with warding charms and seals. "That, of course, is why I brought this with me."

A loud and bestial growl erupted from the cage and it rocked as whatever was inside it moved.

Kakashi and Zabuza tensed at the sound. Their eyes met and they came to an unspoken agreement. Kakashi released his jutsu and Zabuza grabbed his sword.

Panicking at the shinobi, Gatou called out. "Now!"

Two bandits tore off the charms on the front of the cage and before they could unlatch and unlock it, the restraining mechanisms snapped and the cage door was blown off. A large limb swung and both men were knocked off of the bridge. There was a loud roar and the bridge was filled with killing intent. The creature took one step out of the cage, its eyes glowing crimson.

The cloaked man gritted his teeth. _Crap…_


End file.
